Alabama teens petition Legislature to repeal anti-homosexuality language in sex-ed law

An Alabama law regarding sex education is neither legal nor accurate, but that hasn't kept the law from opening the door for bullying and institutional intimidation of gay students, two Alabama high school students say.

Sarah Noone, a junior at Indian Springs, and Adam Pratt, a junior at Homewood High School, want the law changed and have started an online petition for the Alabama Legislature to strike anti-gay language from the code.

"For so many young queer people, they lack support from families, churches and communities," Noone said. "They struggle with it every day. By removing laws like this, it shows that their government cares about them and that it's not right for their teachers to oppress them."

Alabama law mandates that sex education in public schools teach that homosexuality is not an acceptable lifestyle and that homosexual conduct is illegal. While Alabama law does have a sodomy law still on its books, it has been invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 2003 decision, Lawrence v. Texas, the court said that anti-sodomy laws were an invasion of privacy and unconstitutional.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/03/alabama_teens_petition_legisla.html#incart_m-rpt-2