Same-sex marriage and the school curriculum: 4-11-05


Same-sex marriage and the school curriculum

Issues and Action in Education

An e-letter produced
by
EdWatch, a nonprofit organization.

April 11, 2005

Same-sex marriage and the school curriculum

Legislators tell us
that proponents of same-sex marriage, when asked if students have the
right to believe that homosexuality is morally wrong, will universally
say no, students do not have the right to that belief. The school, they
say, is responsible for training students that such a moral belief is
bigoted and hateful.

Parents must consider the serious implications of this position for our
children and for the schools. The March 28th issue of National Review
magazine features an article by David Frum entitled, “A New Word, A New
Day,” in which he describes a concept that will take hold in school
curriculi everywhere if same-sex marriage becomes the law of the land.
The concept is called “Hetero-normative,” and it means that words are
homophobic if they imply “that standard sexual relationships are only
between males and females.”

For example, a controversy raged last February when a Harvard speaker
described her life this way: “Women, you can have it all — a loving
man, devoted husband, loving children, a fabulous career. They say you
gotta choose. Nah, nah, nah… You can do whatever you want. All you
have to do is want it.”

The gay and
lesbian groups filed a complaint because “the content was
specific to male-female relationships.” Similarly, the governor of
Massachusetts was chastised by the Boston Globe for “mean spirited
politics” when he stated that every child “has a right to a mother and a
father.” Praise for the traditional family is bigoted in the new
world of gender-free marriages.

Frum makes the point that “same-sex marriage does not extend marriage.
It transforms marriage.” Husbands and wives, mothers and fathers will be
required to be removed as concepts from law — for every citizen, not
merely for homosexuals.

Where do these ideas
lead us? Frum tells us: “This is not a debate about extending an
institution; it is a debate about overthrowing a norm; not about
reconstruction, but about destruction.” This is what schools will be
required to teach our kids — that hetero-normative language is
hate-speech.

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