Friday, October 21, 2005 Parents Demand Son Secluded from "Gay Agenda" LATimes: David and Tonia Parker believe homosexuality is immoral. So they were appalled when their son brought a picture book home from school that showed families w/ same sex parents. To ensure his "spiritual safety," they demanded the right to pull him out of class whenever homosexuality was discussed. To deny them that right, they say, would be intolerant of their faith. School administrators and Supt Paul Ash refuses to whisk the Parkers' son away if a classmate w/ same sex parents brings a family photo for show & tell, or a lesbian couple volunteers at a school party, and he says this: "Far more people would be hurt if Parker's demands were met. Imagine how bewildered a child of same sex parents would feel if a classmate had to be escorted from the room whenever they mentioned their family? Imagine how same sex parents would feel if they had to take turns attending class events to avoid being seen as a couple for fear of having their child's classmate whisked away?" What's next? Racists can demand their kid be whisked away due to a biracial family? What about anti-Semites? Personally, I have had 4 kids in my classrm who had gay parents: 3 same sex couples and 1 couple who were married to each other, but he was gay/ she was a lesbian. The only time anything had ever been made into an issue was when we made art projects for Mother's Day. My solution? I just allow the kids to make as many Mother (or Father's Day) projects as they want. I do the same for kids who are raised by grandparents, too. If I don't make it an issue, it usually won't be an issue. But 1 parent asked about lil Emily's 2 Mom's Day pictures, and I said: "Why can't she have 2 mommies? Lots of kids made 2 projects. 1 for their mom,1 for their step-mom, or 1 for their grandma who raises them. Should I force them to make 1 of their loved ones feel bad on a great family holiday like Mother's Day?" That shut the parent up FAST b/c how awful would she have looked if she defended bashing family on Mother's Day? |