Tenessee May Pass "Don't Say Gay" Bill

[RavenEye]

NASHVILLE – A bill to restrict teaching about homosexuality before high school cleared its first hurdle in the state House of Representatives, setting the stage for a second year of debate on the appropriate way to handle discussion about gays and lesbians with schoolchildren. Read more... http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-16/tennessee-bill-homosexuality/53116470/1

I just can't think of anything to say to this. It's absolutely stupid!

[elian]

I agree with the quote from the Reverend near the end of the article, the whole point is that gay children may not feel comfortable TALKING to their parents. I think that if the bill passed a student could still approach a teacher or other mentor privately though..I hope.

I guess this is another reason I am glad they teach sex ed in my church.. http://www.uua.org/re/owl - the only Christian denomination that I know of that even comes close would be UCC.

Hmm.. interesting.. http://www.ucc.org/justice/sexuality-education/our-whole-lives-values-and.html

[LastGent]

What I haven't figured out yet, is why parents can't do all this sex ed themselves, over the weekend.

[_someone_]

Hooray for ignorance!

[elian]

What I haven't figured out yet, is why parents can't do all this sex ed themselves, over the weekend.

Not everyone lives in West Virginia <ducks> ..err..sorry..it's actually a very nice state - I love the Crape Myrtle trees.

If it were completely up to the parents some children would not even know about "sex" at all - then you have uninformed people potentially putting a burden on society. It is foolish to think that withholding knowledge about sexually related things makes children "better" - they are already constantly blasted with sex laden marketing anyway. Honest, age appropriate knowledge is good, HOPEFULLY it will be with parental involvement..

I would rather people know healthy things about sex, love and relationships then be abused sexually or "forced" into caring for a child that they are not equipped to raise.

[12voltman59]

Just more stupid BS from the far right---got to feel sorry for the kids in Tennessee who at this age realize they are "gay" in some way---and this rule will just play into making them feel even more out of place and stigmatized than they already did. The problem is with this---once one place comes up with such things---we are bound to see other states all across the country pass copycat laws since "it's such a great idea and works so well!"

I do agree with Elian that West Virginia has some very pretty areas---but its not so nice in the places where the coal companies are blasting down the mountains to get at the coal---in those places----the people are paying a very high price for being in a place so rich in an needed natural resource---like most being in abject poverty that the money from working those operations don't really correct, exposure to all sorts of nasty things like mercury, lead, arsenic, selenium and others at such levels that it affects health negatively with the rates of birth defects, heart disease, all sorts of otherwise rare cancers running rampant in people of all ages, etc being off the charts.

What MTR looks like upclose--- up on Kayford Mtn, WVa--about one hour southeast of Charleston--should say--what is left of Kayford Mtn--they have mined 13,000 acres of the mountain and the only part of its top left is a 40 acre campground that belongs to one man whose family had been on the mountain since the late 1700s/early 1800s.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/ThelakeandWestVirginiaMTR067.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/ThelakeandWestVirginiaMTR047.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/ThelakeandWestVirginiaMTR050.jpg

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/ThelakeandWestVirginiaMTR066.jpg



http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/ThelakeandWestVirginiaMTR043.jpg


A sort of billboard that you see in places like West Virginia, parts of Kentucky, east Tennessee, SW Virginia and Ohio about from the "Friends of Coal" organizations they have in each state--it is kinda ridiculous to say that Coal is "Carbon Neutral"--- coal is just about 100% pure carbon!!! Coal is sure as heck not clean---get anywhere near where its mined, processed or used---and things are hardly at all "CLEAN!!!"

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r216/mpgarr/ThelakeandWestVirginiaMTR072.jpg

[keefer10.7]

Read more... http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-16/tennessee-bill-homosexuality/53116470/1

I just can't think of anything to say to this. It's absolutely stupid!

Is it stupid? Really? Or, could it be that the good state of Tennessee is following what the good people of the state want? Let me ask this question; do you have children? My guess is that you do not. I live in NJ, quite the liberal state it is, but this state does not teach our children, and I have a few in school, about homosexuality. I have a simple solution; dont' move to Tennessee, they may offend sensitivities down there.

[12voltman59]

No Keefer---don't have kids--but if I did--I'd sure as hell talk to them about the "realities" of the world---and teach them that not everyone likes and loves someone of the opposite sex---I'd very early on as soon as they could understand things----let them know that if they felt they were gay or whatever----they would sure be loved no matter what and if they are heterosexual---to not tease, make fun of, bully etc others if they are "different"--even it makes my kids feel uncomfortable to be around. I would also tell a child of mine--that they had better not be a leader in picking on another kid----because being a bully is one thing that I am sure as hell gonna deal with in a hard way.

Hopefully I would have set a proper example for my kids to follow and they would not feel they are somehow superior to do things like bullying, and taunting of others---now---if they somehow took part in such a situation but were more a follower than a leader--well that would be what they call--"a teachable moment" and my wife and I would take actions to make sure that child would come to see that being part of a bullying party is not a good thing and not at all acceptable according to our values.

I can tell ya one way that I would teach my kids to be confident in themselves---at the earliest age possible--they would go take martial arts classes like Judo and Aikido--and later----Krav Magra so if they need to--they could kick some serious ass and know that they are more than capable of defending themselves--and if need be---defend someone else--and if they got suspended from school for fighting in such instances---that would be a justifiable reason to do have been suspended!!

When it comes to the schools teaching about homosexuality---as long as the manner in which its done is "age appropriate" and basically value neutral by merely acknowledging that homosexuality is something that is real and something that does exist--not hiding it---then I would have no problem with the school teaching this.

When it comes to not "saying be gay" being stupid--Fucking right it is because it is sorta like teaching kids that Santa Claus is real---because to try to hide something like homosexuality exists is just as bad as saying that something that doesn't really exist does---in a world that is very complicated, to not give kids a full view way of the way the world is, once again in a manner appropriate for each age, then you are really doing them a disservice. We need to do as much as we can to prepare our kids for the very real and messy world they are going to face--and one aspect of that very real and messy world is that it is filled with people very different than you are----whether that difference has to do with sexuality, religious beliefs, and skin color and a totally different culture--like those in China and India that they will in all likelihood, they will have to interact with in some fashion---hopefully doing business with.

[darkeyes]

Is it stupid? Really? Or, could it be that the good state of Tennessee is following what the good people of the state want? Let me ask this question; do you have children? My guess is that you do not. I live in NJ, quite the liberal state it is, but this state does not teach our children, and I have a few in school, about homosexuality. I have a simple solution; dont' move to Tennessee, they may offend sensitivities down there.

Sex education is about teaching sex and relationships not how to be something.. in this country we are long past that.. it is about preparing children for the big wide world and enabling them to make the best decisions they can as they grow... u cannot divorce one aspect of sex and relationships from the whole because u potentially poison the whole... sexuality is an important part of sex and relationships and for schools to ignore it is to strengthen that poison and make it more likely that it will do real harm.. far too many parents do not like what schools teach about many things but some things cannot be left to parents for much of the prejudice and bigotry which exists towards many people comes from parental prejudice and far too many myths are spread by them.. many totally ignore sex education completely in the home and some even refuse to speak to their children about it save to talk in the most raucous and offensive ways abouts queers and poofs and dykes and the like.....

School education has a role in redressing this balance and correcting much of bad parenting... not just in sex education but in other areas such as citizenship and history both of which parental "guidance" based on their own uninformed and/or misinformed knowledge and from their own prejudice results in an equally prejudiced child and ultimately, adult, thus perpetuating the prejudice...

That we should always try and avoid the pitfall of education becoming propaganda which much of it was not so long ago, much more so when my parents were young, and to some extent even when I was myself.. it still exists today in even the most progressive sytems but as far as is possible the propaganda has been replaced by a more balanced way of educating children...

.. but if we are to have happy healthy adults, and sexually happy healthy adults, there is no substitute for high qaulity sex education for all, as the experience of those socially progressive countries such as exist in Scandinavia and Northern Europe shows.. the improvement in the quality of sex education in this country is beginning to show dividends as teen pregnancies are at last beginning to drop, kids are far more aware of safer sex and stds. It lessens the fear and angst of many children and adults of many issues to do with sex not just sexuality, and there is increasingly a greater understanding and acceptance of what were until recently considered the taboos of bi and homosexuality... they grow to be able to deal more easily and wisely with the issues of sex and sexuality and that to me at the end of the day is what is important..

[SexualBoigamer2012]

Stupidest bill ever.