The Connection Between Legalizing Gay Marriage and Homosexual Curriculum in Public Schools

[This article was originally posted as a comment to the previous article on watchblog.com]

I believe gay marriage is linked to teaching explicit sexual material in public schools as well as promoting homosexual relationships as normal for students as young as kindergarten without consent of parents.

In Massachusetts, gay marriage was legalized in 2004. Almost immediately, this became a premise for teaching about gay sex. Deb Allen, an 8th grade sex ed teacher in Brookline, Mass., gave an interview to NPR in September, 2004. Here is part of the transcript.

DEB ALLEN: In my mind, I know that, `OK, this is legal now.’ If somebody wants to challenge me, I’ll say, `Give me a break. It’s legal now.’
TOVIA SMITH: And, Allen says, teaching about homosexuality is also more important now. She says the debate around gay marriage is prompting kids to ask a lot more questions, like what is gay sex, which Allen answers thoroughly and explicitly with a chart.
DEB ALLEN: And on the side, I’m going to draw some different activities, like kissing and hugging, and different kinds of intercourse. Alright?
TOVIA SMITH: Allen asks her students to fill in the chart with yeses and nos.
DEB ALLEN: Alright. So can a woman and a woman kiss and hug? Yes. Can a woman and a woman have vaginal intercourse, and they will all say no. And I’ll say, `Hold it. Of course, they can. They can use a sex toy. They could use’—and we talk—and we discuss that. So the answer there is yes.

I’ve already discussed the David Parker case. There was another one as well. In 2006, Joey Wirthlin’s teacher read a book called King and King to her second grade class. The book is about a prince who rejects several princesses and ends up marrying another prince. The last page is a picture of the princes kissing with a heart covering their faces. The parents in both of these cases sued the schools to make it mandatory for teachers to notify parents when these subjects were taught and allow the students to opt out. They lost their case and appealed it. Here is an excerpt from the appellate court’s opinion.

“Joey has a more significant claim, both because he was required to sit through a classroom reading of King and King and because that book affirmatively endorses homosexuality and gay marriage. It is a fair inference that the reading of King and King was precisely intended to influence the listening children toward tolerance of gay marriage. ”

Still the appeal failed. One reason they gave was because gay marriage was legal in Massachusetts.

“Given that Massachusetts has recognized gay marriage under its state constitution, it is entirely rational for its schools to educate their students regarding that recognition.”

These were second graders. The case was not to stop all discussion about homosexual topics, it was to ensure parents knew when they were being addressed and had the right to opt their kids out.

That’s one for one in states where gay marriage has been legalized for longer than five months. Teachers and courts use the legalizing of gay marriage to justify teaching it in schools. These sentiments don’t have to be the majority. Each teacher gets to decide how they will present gay topics to their students where gay marriage is legal.