Aaron Sweeney writes a guest post over at CitizenLink:
I can’t remember the last time my town’s been in the national news—in fact, maybe there hasn’t really been another time. I guess that’s why what’s going on now has taken so many of us by surprise.
I’m the youth minister at a church in Erie, Illinois—a town of about 1,500 people that represents a mixture of local business owners, farmers, teachers and factory workers and others.
We’ve never experienced anything like this—where for the last several weeks our town has been the target of a national pressure campaign launched by gay activists and liberal media. People in our town have been called insulting names by angry bloggers. They’ve gotten phone calls to their home and hate emails from people who don’t even live here.
So what was our town’s big crime—the one that suddenly put us on the map for hate speech and CNN coverage?
Well—we just dared to say no.
No, that is, to GLSEN’s (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) materials coming into to our pre-kindergarten through fourth grade elementary school. (Read more about thathere). And our local school board had the courage to listen to the concerns of the majority of parents, voting 5-2 to reject the materials. (I got involved in this whole thing after a bunch of parents started contacting me about what was happening.)
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"I hope this will encourage thousands of other parents, including many of you reading this, that it’s so important to be connected to the details of your children’s lives and what they are being taught in schools. You don’t have to be afraid. You’re not alone. You can speak up—and make a difference. Even when you live in smalltown America."
Bravo, Aaron. You have it exactly right, and millions upon millions of us are with you.
Keep it up!
Backwoods ignoramuses actively discriminate. News at 10.
"Well, I guess the short answer is we’re still one of those communities left in the US of A that dares to admit we want to teach our kids good old-fashioned, love-thy-neighbor kind of character lessons and moral values"
That is, "love-thy-neighbor" unless he or she is homosexual, in which case call him or her a sinner and try to save him or her from the eternal damnation that awaits for being born that way. God forbid that he or she falls mutually in love with a same-sex partner and tries to defend his or her feelings! Then we must call him or her "miscreant", "depraved", "immoral", for being so disgusting.
Kudos to Erie.
Small towns are the heart of this country.
They feed us, build the items we use every day and raise strong kids who will be good citizens.
Those who can't do anything useful join GLSEN.
Look, if the people from God fearing Birmingham want to keep blacks out of our schools, then we have the right to it. Its all a liberal plot.
“…the best answer I’ve come up with so far is that they don’t like the precedent of anyone—even parents in smalltown America—saying no to them. I guess they really do think they know better than the majority of people raising their kids and elected community leaders.”
That’s right. They can’t stand not getting their way, and forcing their lifestyle into the faces of *other* peoples’ children.
“People in our town have been called insulting names by angry bloggers. They’ve gotten phone calls to their home and hate emails from people who don’t even live here.”
Sheesh. SSMers have a penchant for this kind of behavior. They act like vicious animals sometimes.
They really expect people to roll over for them at every turn; and when that doesn’t happen, they go nuts.
@Doug & Jon:
Love thy neighbor does not mean allowing my neighboor to teach my children to embrace sexual sin. Do you have sex with your neighbors because of the verse telling you to "love thy neighboor"?
Anyone coming after children about homosexual matters against the expressed will of that child's parents is cut from the same cloth as a child molester. Homosexuality is not like skin-color, being gay is an sinful lifestyle like adultry or sex outside of marriage.
Whether are heart gets burned and bruised, whether we feel threatened and weak, whether we're confronted with our own fears and attacked by discouragement “...we’re backed by something stronger - an unshakable passionate love for our children...” And we will forever stand up and say “no!” No my child it is not the same thing. No my child, it is not to be encouraged. No my child it is not the best thing for you. No my child it is not to be contemplated. No my child it is not to be judged.
No my nation! you must never teach such things to our children!
Good for them.
They should be a model for the rest of the country. Elected board members listening to their constituents and voting with their values.
Mantronikk, of course I have sex with all of my neighbors. God tells me to do it, so I do it.
Please explain how homosexuality is immoral. Give me a rational reason for why mutual homosexual love is a bad thing.
Homosexual couples exist in America, and they raise children. Making all children aware that different, non "traditional" families exist will contribute to a more accepting atmosphere and cut down on bullying of homosexual children. You can teach your children to hate others, but you shouldn't expect children to learn hatred in public schools.
@MrRoivas
You actually believe that refusing to instruct schoolchildren to "draw Spiderman in a magical tiara" is something on a par with Jim Crow segregation?
Seriously???
Thanks Mantronikk and Good News that was going to be the point of my post. Now we will see if these bullies over at GLSEN try to use the courts and the ACLU to impose their agenday on the parents and children.
@Jon
Are you kidding me?!? God says fornicators, adulturers, and homosexuals are going to be seperated from Him for eternity.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%206:9-11&version=NIV
Also, if you support the sexual ACTIVITIES of the glbt community, you are NOT part of god's adopted family.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20John%202:4&version=NIV
I support the civil rights of gays, but I do NOT support their sexual conduct or the redefinition of marriage and family.
http://heteroseparatist.blogspot.com/2009/07/12july09.html
@Jon
God says that homosexual behavior is wrong. You're fighting against Him...not me. I Cor. 6:9-11.
Mantron---some of us don't believe in any God...so you wanna try again with answering Jon's question?
@ Layne
http://heteroseparatist.blogspot.com/search/label/homosexual%20health%20issues
Erie is just seeing the real face of "tolerance." stay strong Erie! Sexual identity politics have no place in a classroom, especially amongst the very young and innocent. Protect their childhood!
@Mantronikk If your belief is based solely on faith than it is irrational. "Because God says so" won't cut it for anyone who isn't a believer in your religion. "Because it is written in a 2000 year old book" won't cut it either.
I didn't ask what is dangerous about promiscuous homosexual interactions (spread of disease, etc. which also goes along with promiscuity among heterosexuals). If anything, same sex marriage would be a step towards reducing promiscuity amongst the homosexual population.
I asked what is morally wrong with mutual homosexual love and the sexual acts in which they express it.
On a somewhat unrelated note, adulterers/fornicators are allowed to divorce/marry as many times as they want to. Would you support a federal law or amendment to the Constitution to make it illegal for adulterers to remarry?
Jon,
So according to your "rational logic" all beliefs based on faith or the dreaded bible are irrational, I guess that would include:
"thou shall not steal"
"thou shall not commit adultery"
"thou shall not murder"
"thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife"
In your view, because a document is old, it is thereby invalid?
Actually, biblical rules have held societies and this country together from the start, and if we went back to them and actually adhered to them, we would have less abortions, murders, theft, adultery, and yes, homosexual relationships.
Because, unlike race, there are people that choose to leave the homosexual life style. In other words, there are x-smokers, x-homosexuals -- but never any x-black.
Just simple logic for those of us who believe the 'irrational' bible.
Also Jon,
you opined "adulterers/fornicators are allowed to divorce/marry as many times as they want to".
Yes, and adulterers/fornicators can only marry ONE person of the opposite sex, just like Gays and everyone else in America have that same right. No one asks if you are gay when you get married.
@Jon
If you want to reject the word of God...go right ahead. I guarantee that you will someday regret rebelling against God's moral absolutes.
I applaud the youth minister in this fight. This GLSEN organization is run by the homosexual radical activist Kevin Jennings who imposed this idea on Massachusetts schools and the parents and the children have suffered right along with this.
@Jon
"If your belief is based solely on faith than it is irrational."
The 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution says you are wrong; it recognizes faith based religion as immutable under the U.S. Constitution and is no more irrational under the laws of the United States then Race, or Gender based characteristics are.
People of faith need to start stepping up and addressing your expressed religious bigotry in no uncertain terms; for under the U.S. Constitution your assault on religion shows you to be no better than the KKK.
What does this have to do with marriage?
(Nothing. More evidence that NOM is purely an anti-gay hate group.)