Our state legislature wrapped up their annual session last night. And I have had a couple of heartburn inducing bills that I have tried to keep on my radar while they worked. Now the legislature's part if over and the Governor is holding the bag at this point with bills waiting to be signed into law.
I just want to share my complete disappointment about one bill. Overwhelmingly, legislators in both houses passed a bill shifting our public education's handling of Sex Ed in health or biology to an "abstinence only" curriculum. This bill is now sitting on the governor's desk waiting for a signature or a veto.
The thing is, while abstinence is the option I personally would prefer for our kids for their sexual behavior, this bill disallows any parental choice to "opt in" or the choice to give permission for our kids to learn from an educated and caring teacher (as it is now). A student requires a permission slip to sit in a class period to hear any of this information--which is currently even more limited than I would prefer--at this point. This new bill removes that opt in or permission slip choice. The proposed change would not let teachers answer ANY question from a student that went outside the abstinence-only language.
Where will kids go for information then? You know they won't just stop looking for what they feel they need to know. The Internet? Their friends? Yeah, sure. I worry about that. A lot.
I believe strongly that, as a parent, it is my duty and privilege to teach my kids the values and morals I believe as right. I feel bound to teach them how to stay safe, physically and emotionally, when it comes to human sexuality along with everything else I do to try to keep them safe. Having a teacher back up my efforts to instruct my kids with just the facts, is a great way to tie the medical information to the morality I want to instill in them on this topic. Now the government thinks they know better what to do for my kids. That is wrong. In every way.
Here is a
LINK in a local newspaper from one of the opposing representative, who presents a thoughtful and caring opinion. I agree with her. How I wish other elected officials thought more about the "we the people" they represent than their own re-electability or the extremists who puff them up throughout the session as lobbyists.
My faith in the system significantly dims between this kind of extremist agenda-driven legislation and the vicious, attacking, slanderous primary election propaganda going on in our country. And that is disturbing to me. America was designed for better than this.
