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crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters
The American Family Association's One News Now seems to be up in arms about the bill from Congressman Jared Polis which is aimed at stopping the bullying of gay students in America's schools:
Concern is rising over a bill in Congress that would provide special protections for students who claim they are discriminated against because of their “perceived sexual orientation.”
Earlier this year, Colorado representative Jared Polis introduced a bill known as The Student Non-Discrimination Act, or H.R. 4530. The Democrat claimed the legislation would put homosexual students on “equal footing” with their peers, much as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act did for minorities and Title IX did for women.
Neal McCluskey (Cato Institute)But Neal McCluskey, associate director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, believes the government is using this bill to try and give people protective status based on their class.
“When government starts to say, 'No, because you belong to this group you get extra protection,' that's very disturbing,” he comments. “We want equal protection under the law.”
McCluskey adds that this legislation holds a more specific problem.
“It's such a broad definition that any student who might say anything remotely critical about homosexual lifestyles, any opinion they might have, could be punished under this law,” he explains. “And if they're not punished for expressing what's a totally valid opinion, then the school could be punished, and that simply isn't acceptable in a free society because it curbs people's free speech rights.”
The article is standard example of how not to write a news story on so many levels. First of all, “concern is rising” from whom? I'd venture to say no one but those guillible to take in this article as truth.
Secondly, the article does not say just what “special” or “extra” protection gay students would receive.”Special protection” is another way of saying “special rights,” which is an old religious right talking point about gays and lesbians
Lastly, McCluskey's statement can be seen differently if one would add just a few changes:
McCluskey adds that this legislation holds a more specific problem.
“It's such a broad definition that any student who might say anything remotely critical about homosexual lifestyles (like calling a gay student a “faggot,”) any opinion they might have, could be punished under this law,” he explains. “And if they're not punished for expressing what's a totally valid opinion (like threatening the gay student with violence), then the school could be punished (for not protecting the gay student), and that simply isn't acceptable in a free society because it curbs people's free speech rights. (because students should be free to call gay students derogatory names or threaten their lives).”
Okay, maybe I took too many liberties with McCluskey's words but I did so to make a point about him and One News Now.
The bullying of gay students is a huge problem in our nation's schools. There are too many stories of children getting beat up or committing suicide because of homophobia.
And those are the stories we know about. Let us not forget the children who are forced to drop out of school because of the attacks against them – students who are robbed of an education and the ability of achieving their full potential simply because of the ignorance of other students and the inability of schools to address the problem.
It is an issue that needs to be tackled with intensity instead of being minimized by a pseudo Christian publication and a thinktank syncophant.
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Let’s reassure themthat the roving gangs of violent gay and lesbian students who are daily harassing and bullying the innocent straight kids will also be held accountable under this policy.
After all, if we train our young queers not to harass the straights, we won’t have those tragic circumstances like the Prop 8 trial video question that had the poor dears quivering in their shoes for fear of attack, and our servicemembers will be safe from all those assaults in the showers.
Now all the football players whose complaints of “the fags won’t leave me alone” will have the support they need.
It’s a win-win.
When will these clowns learn that heterosexual is an orientation, too? Gay people aren’t getting any special protection. They are just getting equal protection that they happen to need a hell of a lot more.
“When will these clowns learn that heterosexual is an orientation, too?”You make the entirely unsupported assumption that they are capable of learning. Keep in mind that these are the same people who scream that gravity is “just a theory” and that superstitions from two thousand years ago are all you need to know.
Its ironic because this law would be in place not only to protect the glbt community but those percived to be.I.e. heterosexual children being constantly harassed for their effeminate masculinity or masculine femininity. The Idea that all LGBT students grow up and are harassed these days is not as prevalent as it used to be. But that doesn’t mean they don’t still need protection. But this bill is across the board it is not for just lgbt students it is for all students. Boys too small to play football and girls big enough too. The sensitive, the artistic, the tom boyish, the gender-bending, and the trans-exploring, this isn’t about sexuality as much as it is about the free speech of the kids themselves and the tolerance they truly deserve.
“Violence against Gays” the South Carolina Motto!The Education Committee, yes EDUCATION COMMITTEE, of the South Carolina Legislature has approved a Bill on dating Violence Education which was modified in the committee to include the definition of a dating couple to be those in a “Heterosexual” relationship.
The purpose of the Bill is to reduce domestic violence?
By the way, South Carolina has NO OTHER Violent Crime Laws for ANY Citizens, oh, except for the Lawmakers themselves, Judges, Police, and a variety of animals; yes this is no joke, animals.
No wonder South Carolina lags behind in all areas including employment with Lawmakers like this at the helm?
Remember the Tourism Ad Campaign “South Carolina is so Gay” which was squelched? Well we’re here – We’re queer, but God help us if we are killed by a fag hater like Sean Kennedy.
WHY DO WE INSISTWhy is it that we refer to these people by the euphemisms which they use for themselves to hide behind? Religious? Right? These people are talking GENOCIDE. These people are the 21st century equivalent of Hitler’s sociopathic followers. Look to History and it’s there. The harrassment of us, the talk of exterminating us, the individual attacks on us are all parallelled in Germany in the 1930′s. We need to expose them for this and use terms more indicative of what they actually stand for: Tyranny, Hatred, purification of their straight ‘race.’
All of theis at OUR expense, ONLY if we allow it.
Read Pastor Martin Niemoller’s text regarding the Holocaust which, by the way, included close to 12 million murders of which WE were a part. Some only acknowledge the more familiar number of 6 million, this is skewed.
There may be an issue of constitutional framework, but…The “religious right” is neither.
“[McCluskey] concludes that the problem with government-run schools is that everyone’s rights cannot be respected equally…”
I thought that was the nature of rights. My right to swing my fists indiscriminately in the air ends at the point of the other person’s nose. Your right to discuss the laundry list of my personal arsenal in juxtaposition with my address and daily itinerary end where my right to not have my home become a target of a B&E begins.
Seems like the right of proto-bigots to flounce around the halls of a public school with “faggot this” and “queer that” on their lips ends at the point where every non-turbo-heterosexual students’ rights to not be bullied begins.
This is arguably the reason I’m becoming a teacher, when Lawrence King became the victim of the ultimate form of bullying.
If McClockey has a legitimate issue regarding the specific language used to affect the defense of the rights of GLBT and straight students alike to not be bullied being overreaching, fine. Let’s hear them. Air them out. Let’s read them. Let’s discuss them.
If he can’t cite them, then he’s just a blowhard and a scare-monger.
Why is itthat some group tries to gain EQUAL rights, the Konservative Kristian Koalition immediately rebrands that attempt as trying to gain SPECIAL rights? You know, when we allowed women to vote, they got “special” rights. When we allowed kids of color to attend school with white kids, those colored kids got “special” rights. When we want want to allow folks to marry the person they love regardless of sex, then those folks are wanting “special” rights.
Oh, wait – I got it. Could it be that they think those rights are “special” because they are the only ones who should have them?
Well, I don’t have an opinion for this fellow but I do have a statisticThere is a 99% probability that there are no gods/goddesses as observable scientific fact. Refute that. Until your religion positively proves through scientific evidence of the existence of a god (a 1% chance), please fuck off.