TORONTO: Religious Groups Stage Anti-LGBT March Against Sex Education

Telesur reports:

Furious over what they say are radical changes to sex education curriculum, protesters direct their anger towards openly gay Premier Kathleen Wynne. Demonstrators in Toronto chanted “Kathleen, loser, lesbian loser!,” as they protested on Sunday against the revised sexual education curriculum in Canada's largest city. Comprised mainly of concerned parents and federal conservative activists, this growing anti-sex education movement strongly opposes the inclusion of topics such as consent, gender identity and sexual orientation in the province's public education system. Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne has accredited the movement's offensive tone to her own sexual identity as a lesbian and her involvement in the curriculum amendments. In defense of the revisions, which are the first since 1998, she stated that they are grounded in pedagogical research and diverse consultations with parent representatives.

The video is really something.


(Tipped by JMG reader Chaz)

Headline Of The Day

Abstinence-only totally works. (Tipped by JMG reader Thom)

Christian Morality Group: Harvard's Sex Week Promotes Violence Against Women

The Christian group Morality In Media is ever so pissed about Harvard's Sex Week, which is a student-sponsored sex education series of seminars currently underway. Via Charisma News:

"With the rise of sexual assault on college campuses one might think that the smart folks at Harvard would avoid promoting porn and violent sexual practices because these are at the root of sexual assault," said Dawn Hawkins, executive director of Morality in Media. "Yet, Harvard, like all schools conducting sex week events, can't see the forest for the trees and is promoting sexual violence while pretending to teach proper sex," she added. One particular workshop includes instruction on how to perform anal sex, which is portrayed in most popular porn videos today despite the long list of dangers associated with such activity. Another workshop encourages students to engage in violent, torture sex and gives them lessons on how to do it. "Harvard is clearly not serious about stopping rape and sexual harassment on their campus if they are promoting an environment where porn, torture sex and risky behaviors are encouraged," Hawkins said.

That didn't take long.

Sex Week At Harvard

It's Sex Week at Harvard, butt the anal sex seminar was two days ago. You newbies will have to depend on the expertise of your fellow commenters. Expect the above to spawn fevered denouncements across Teabagistan.

HAWAII: Crackpot Lawmaker Forces Sex Education Opt-In Choice For Parents

Hawaii state Rep. Bob "Crazy Eyes" McDermott has apparently finally won one of his many crackpot crusades.

Hawaii is making its sex education classes for middle school students opt-in, responding to critics by giving parents responsibility to affirm they want their children to be taught the course. The Department of Education said Friday that the shift from an opt-out policy is one of 12 changes the department is immediately making to improve curriculum review and help parents be part of the sexual education process. The changes come after objections to the program that debuted last year titled “Pono Choices,” which has been criticized by some state lawmakers and others. State Rep. Bob McDermott, a Republican who repeatedly said the curriculum wasn’t medically accurate and was a form of social engineering, said Friday the changes are a partial victory with the opt-in change plus changes to how genitals are described and inclusions about risks from anal sex.

McDermott, you will recall, was the leading legislative voice during Hawaii's vicious battle against same-sex marriage.

Mississippi And Alabama Sex Education Programs Claim That Gay Sex Is Illegal

The New Republic reports:

Mississippi’s sex-ed curriculum is not notable for its progressive nature. But one thing you can’t say about the Magnolia State is that it follows the advice of some conservative parents who want schools to totally ignore homosexuality. In fact, state law mandates that the subject be discussed, at least briefly: Students are to be told that homosexual activity is illegal. Mississippi, whose governor just signed a noxious anti-gay bill, is not the only state with such a clause in its sex ed curriculum. Neighboring Alabama requires that instructors teach that “homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public and that homosexual conduct is a criminal offense." In fact, the Supreme Court rendered all state laws against gay sex unenforceable in 2003, when it struck down an anti-sodomy law in Texas.

(Tipped by JMG reader Jake)

HAWAII: Crackpot GOP Lawmaker Works To Stop Gay-Inclusive Sex Education

Losing all those attempts to stop gay marriage wasn't the last we were going to hear from crackpot GOP Hawaii state Rep. Bob McDermott, who is now trying to get the state to yank a sex education program. Because it mentions homosexuality.

“The program normalizes a homosexual lifestyle and anal sex, while failing to warn students of the extreme dangers of anal sex; it references multiple sex partners, while failing to inform students about the health benefits of monogamy; it fails to warn students about the ineffectiveness of condoms against HPV, herpes, and anal sex; and fails to educate students on the stages of human reproduction,” McDermott said, providing Hawaii Reporter with an early copy of his report. “Any talk of anal sex — which the curriculum does frequently — is instinctively repulsive for pre-pubescent children. Additionally, calling the anus a genital — as Pono Choices does — is just plain medically wrong,” McDermott said.

Parents are currently allowed to opt their children out the program.

Dan Savage On Sex Ed For LGBT Students

Petition Of The Day

Via press release:

A new “Oppose hate in the classroom” bill was introduced on Tuesday in Alabama to remove a requirement that sexual education teachers tell students that being gay is “a criminal offense” and “not an acceptable lifestyle to the general public.” All Out, the global movement for lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) equality, along with Advocates for Youth and AIDS Alabama, has launched a petition to call on Alabama lawmakers to swiftly pass the bill and stop lying to young people.

“Right now, Alabama is forcing teachers to lie to students and tell them that it’s illegal to be gay. This despicable mis-education must be repealed without delay,” said Andre Banks, Executive Director and Co-founder of All Out. “All around the world young people face stigma, shame and bullying at school because they are lesbian, gay, bi, trans -- or even just questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity. Alabama needs to move out of the dark ages and make it legal for teachers to spread the facts about sexuality rather than damaging propaganda.”

The petition is here. The text of the bill is here.

Family Research Council: NYC Is Paying The Price For Sex Education

Via press release from the Family Research Council:

New York City distributes more condoms, performs more abortions, and engages in more explicit sex education than almost any region in the country. Earlier this year, the city even launched a test program called CATCH, Connecting Adolescents to Comprehensive Healthcare, which gives high school students the option of getting regular birth control injections, the morning-after pill, and condoms at their schools without ever calling parents.

And what has the city gotten for its trouble? Thousands more sexually-related diseases -- most of them incurable, and all of them expensive. According to the CDC, a single case of HIV costs $400,000 to treat over a lifetime. But instead of discouraging promiscuity, the U.S. is pouring millions of dollars into STD treatments -- all because the government doesn't want to confront people about the dangers of premarital sex. In this age of "sexual freedom," our culture -- and now our tax dollars -- are promoting sexual activity with anyone at any time with complete disregard for the physical toll. It's as if sex were the new constitutional right.

The press release claims that "one-third of NYC neighborhoods are in the top 20% for residents with multiple STDs," implying that the referenced 20% is from a survey done nationwide. In fact, the survey was for New York City only.  But according to the Family Research Council, New Yorkers are slutty and diseased compared to the rest of the nation. There truly is nothing they won't lie about.

CDC Reports Decline In HIV Education

Via press release:

Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its 2011 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which tracks everything from seat belt utilization to tobacco use among America’s youth. While the report showed improvements among many risk factors, the percentage of U.S. high school students who had learned about HIV/AIDS in school dropped from 91.5 percent in 1997 to 84 percent in 2011. At the same time, only 60 percent of young people reported using a condom during their last sexual encounter. “With young people, especially young gay men, facing such a heavy burden of HIV, today’s data further instructs the nation to do more to educate youth about sexual health,” said National Minority AIDS Council Director of Legislative and Public Affairs Kali Lindsey.

Tennessee Approves Abstinence-Only Bill: "Gateway Sexual Activity" Leads To Evil

The Tennessee state legislature has approved a bill that restricts all sexual education to lessons on abstinence-only. Because any mention of "gateway sexual activity" will result in an explosion of teen-fucking.

The bill defines “gateway sexual activity” as: “sexual conduct encouraging an individual to engage in a non-abstinent behavior.” The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Jim Gotto, said the bill wouldn’t address things as innocuous as holding hands, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. But critics of the legislation say the offending behavior is not clearly defined. Gotto did not immediately return TPM’s request for comment. According to the News Sentinel, groups like Planned Parenthood and others who provide sex education information in schools could face a $500 fine.

Teen pregnancy rates have consistently been the highest in states that only allow abstinence education. Get ready for a flood of teen abortions and baby mamas, Tennessee. Gov. Bill Haslam is expected to sign the bill.

Utah House Bans Birth Control Education

The Utah House has passed a bill banning any mention of contraception in sex education classes. If a school does offer sex ed, it has to be abstinence only.

The state House passed HB 363 in a 45-28 vote following extensive debate. The bill -- which now goes on to the state Senate -- would lift the current requirement that all public schools must teach sex ed in grades 8 through 12. If the bill passes, districts would decide whether to offer sex ed classes that teach an abstinence-only curriculum, or not offer the course at all. Republican state Rep. Bill Wright sponsored the proposal. "We've been culturally watered down to think we have to teach about sex, about having sex and how to get away with it, which is intellectually dishonest," Wright said, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. "Why don't we just be honest with them upfront that sex outside marriage is devastating?"

Rep. Wright say his bill was prompted by Planned Parenthood materials which "promote promiscuity."

Planned Parenthood Loves The Cock!

And the vajayjay. Which is evil. EEEEEVILLLLL! They are nothing more than pimps who want to get kids hooked on masturbation! Which is also evil. EEEEVILLLLL!

(Tipped by JMG reader Cuberly)

Tony Perkins: Gays Want Our Kids, Part 88

With yet another mention of that regrettable Queerty post.

WISCONSIN: State Senate Passes Abstinence Education Bill

The GOP-dominated Wisconsin Senate has passed a bill ordering teachers to downplay any mention of contraception in sex education classes. Because the only thing you need to know is "God hates fucking."

The new GOP-backed legislation would not ban teachers from discussing contraceptives, but would demand they stress abstaining from sex the only reliable way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. "We are trying to back away from the bill passed last year that we feel mandated sex ed that was too nonjudgmental, too explicit and at too young an age," said Republican state Sen. Glenn Grothman. Democratic counterpart Sen. Jon Erpenbach said Wisconsin was "taking a step back to the Flintstone era" with the legislation.

Note that the GOP rep actually said that the previous bill wasn't judgemental enough.

Both Of NYC's GOP House Reps Endorse Abstinence Only Sex Education

Although neither of them has any say in city government, both of NYC's GOP members of the U.S. House have come out against the city's recently approved sex ed curriculum.

Reps. Bob Turner (R-Queens, Brooklyn) and Michael Grimm (R-S.I., Brooklyn) joined NYC Parents' Choice Coalition in lobbying for a change. "Parents had no say in this mandate," Turner said. "The Archdiocese of New York, Orthodox Jewish groups, Muslims, many are saying this is a sensitive and delicate subject, and they want more say in what is taught." Turner said the coalition wanted school officials to offer a second, abstinence-based sex-ed curriculum. Parents and politicians will rally for change outside Public School 104 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, today. School officials announced in August that sex education would be required in all city middle and high schools.

These guys know abstinence education only leads to more pregnancies, more STDs, more AIDS.

THEY DON'T FUCKING CARE.

Ruben Diaz Denounces Sex Education

New York state Sen. Ruben Diaz, who calls himself "Senator Reverend" in his press releases, has come out against NYC's proposed sex education curriculum.

In matters involving intimacy and human sexuality, parents have the right and the responsibility to be the primary educators. Many parents teach their children that these are private topics not to be discussed casually or in group settings. Now there is no formal arena for formal parental input. There is no opportunity for public hearings. There are no requirements that these regulations be open to public review and comment. No accountability to the public, to the parents, and certainly not the children. How sad for us all.

Diaz's home district of the Bronx has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the nation. But that's apparently OK with the Senator Reverend.

Abstinence Works Because It Works

Despite all the data to contradict his position, Texas Gov. Rick Perry sits there and shamelessly tells the show's moderator that "abstinence education works." Watch this clip for a horrifying preview of the next year in GOP politics. (My apologies for the ad at the beginning.)

NEW YORK: Catholic Archdiocese Opposes Sex Education In Public Schools

It may be hard to believe, but sex education is currently not available to all public high school students in New York City. Each school is allowed to decide whether to offer the courses and only about half do. Bloomberg wants to change that, much to the outrage of busybodies from the Catholic Church.

In the first serious challenge to the city’s mandate, which was announced on Tuesday, a spokesman for the archdiocese said the church’s position was that parents, not the schools, should educate children about sex. “Parents have the right and the responsibility to be the first and primary educators of their children,” Joseph Zwilling, director of communications for the archdiocese, wrote in a statement. “This mandate by the city usurps that role, and allows the public school system to substitute its beliefs and values for those of the parents.”

The Catholic League's reliably whacko Bill Donahue weighs in:

There is a sex-education program that could work, and it is one that is similar to the approach being used to discuss smoking. We don't tell kids not to smoke and then instruct them on the proper way to inhale. No, we show them horrifying pictures of a smoker's lungs. We tell them of the physical pain they are likely to endure by smoking. We tell them how it will shorten their life expectancy. We could do the same when discussing sexual experimentation at a young age. We could discuss how abortion affects the psyche of the mother who elects to terminate her baby. We could show pictures of what abortion does to the child being cut up into pieces. We could instruct them on the link between unwed motherhood and poverty. We could inform them of the greater likelihood of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease. In other words, we could teach the negative real-life consequences of sexual experimentation at a young age.