'Sexual' school clubs decried (move to ban Gay-Straight Alliances in FL)

An effort to ban Gay-Straight Alliance clubs from Hillsborough County schools accelerated Tuesday when a group of parents wheeled a child's wagon to the front of a School Board meeting.

Inside the wagon were petitions, wrapped in red ribbons, signed by about 1,100 people who object to the school district's allowing Gay-Straight Alliances. The petitions asked board members to ban the clubs, which meet some school days in a handful of Hillsborough high schools, including Newsome and Brandon.

Alice Wilkinson, who has two children at Newsome, delivered the petitions and urged board members to learn more about the clubs. She said she represents parents who believe the "sexually oriented" clubs are inappropriate for students and violate the district's policy of teaching abstinence.

"We are not a group of right-wing anything," she said. "It's so easy to jump to the conclusion we are against gay people."


http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/14/Hillsborough/_Sexual__school_clubs.shtml

we just think they shouLd either cease to exist, or shut the fuck up and get back in the cLoset.

That's how it is at Boston College. "You can be gay--as long as you don't *act* gay" :eyes:

The hypersexualization of gays HAS to stop.

..

What a dumb bitch that is..."we are against gays", people like that are the reason why progress is so fucking difficult in this country. That women is a bigot, along with that school...

"Well tell ya what bitch, we will stop being gay when you stop being a right-wingnut hater. I can accept you for who you are but you can accept us for who we are?? GO TO HELL skank.

They are just pro-WHITE. So idiotic. Disgusting how many people buy this shit.

It's more that...I don't want her to live... anymore.

Stewie Griffin

straight) between students at the school. In fact, seperate them. They might get the idea to 'Go all the way' and *gasp* hold hands!

"sex life". Take a look at any thread about outing people - you'll see a rash of "Their sex life is their own business" posts by well intended posters who think even acknowledging you're gay is just a statement about sex.

can discuss the lifestyle without necessarily talking about the sex, itself. In this case I'm assuming it's about reaching across the lifestyle gap to teach straights that gays are human and deserve respect, to promote acceptance of diversity of lifestyle. But parents need reaching out, too, to understand that their fear of 'promoting' homosexuality doesn't mean recruiting.

Thank you.

what happens between the sheets. As a non-parent lesbian, I certainly do not live the predominant lifestyle that straights are accustomed to. After decades of dealing with discussions with straights on the topic I think the 'uninitiated' really are confused about what we're about and that it's not all about sex. I can't speak for gay men, but for lesbians it is decidely not just about sex. If you're disagreeing with my point, I'd be interested to hear why; if you're stuck on the word 'lifestyle' I understand but do not agree in this context.

Shessh... even on DU...

violate "the district's policy of teaching abstinence."

They are not even making sense anymore (not that they did to begin with).

all have gay sex. But if they believed that gays can go straight, wouldn't the opposite happen to? That would be that the straights will turn the gays into straights and then no one would have same sex sex? Isn't that what the fundies want?

Neither one is going to happen but it is fun to play with their heads.

in GSA meetings? That everyone gets naked and they have a massive orgy?

For fuck's sake, these people confuse the hell out of me with their raping of logic.

What is wrong with these people? What is "sexual" about these organizations? Is it more "sexual" than holding a homecoming dance? Why not simply have one school for straignts and one for gays? Ooops that's not enough to promote "abstinence" -- I guess they need to have one school for straight guys, one for straight girls, and one for gay males and lesbians. Of course, the latter school can only have two students per school -- one gay male and one lesbian.

That's the ticket.

onenote

They promote nasty heterosexual identities. Tsk, tsk.

Gays recruit CHILDREN. And that's what this whole thing is about. Idiot fundies think that you can be recruited into a different sexual attraction.

If they had any connection to science they'd know that sexual attraction is an instinct....no thinking/choice required.

heterosexual alliances? If so, then by definition, should families be banned from school because they are "sexually oriented" alliances?

Did they ever consider that? Maybe the more students know about their gay classmates, they less hostile they will be? It IS all about TOLERANCE.

I say this as the mother of a gay daughter, who also grew up in Greenwich Village and has several other gay members on both sides of my family.

Honestly, it is really NO BIG DEAL. As they used to say, "Different Strokes for Different Folks."

In fact, they see being hostile toward gays as their religious duty, to try to get them to "change their sinful ways."

I can't understand why so many hateful people take the position that homosexuality is all about sex. Gay people fall in love, hold hands, talk, fight, do everything in relationships that straight people do. Being gay has nothing more to do with being "sexual" than being straight does. This really makes me sad.

NOT HAVING SEX.

And some DU posters could use that reminder as well.

but religious clubs are definatly allowed, so what is their point? If schools decided, for example, that only evolution can be taught in Science class, this would not disallow a Creation Science club from forming. My stars, these guys are pea brained hypocrites.

Parents in middle class areas of Manhattan, like Greenwich Village and Battery Park, have protested the Rainbow Curriculum because of the use of books like "Heather Has Two Mommies", etc. Needless to say, these people are not Bush supporters.

Then we should ban all religious clubs, bible clubs, and swearing in with one hand on the bible.

When you want to deny them freedom of speech, it tends to leave that impression.

At a GSA meeting, the students sit in chairs, sip coffee or hot chocolate, and discuss current laws and discrimination cases.

At school dances, boys grind their genitals nonstop against girls' behinds. As soon as you manage to separate one couple, you turn around, and the next one is at it. That's why I don't chaperon dances anymore, and if the school tried to force me to, I would claim harrassment - no other job I've ever had required me to watch that sort of thing, and any boss that HAD forced me to watch it would have lost their job.

Truly, these parents' concerns are misplaced.

is a hotbed of antigay sentiment. Some of these folks think they'll push this shit through JUST because our commissioners are (largely, but not totally) a bunch of bigots, homophobes and haters.

"...policy of teaching abstinence." should tell you something.

As a funny side note. Joe Redner, the biggest strip club owner in town has come out saying he is gay. That gives him standing before the courts to sue the County Council members who, a while ago, banned all literature from the libraries advertising the Gay Pride Parade.

whore-bitch. Why don't you do us all a favor and crawl back up your mommy's rectum?

that will would sign this ban is trivial. Just canvass the trailer home parks.

content or affiliation because the other alternative is the school system must then ban ALL clubs in order to protect the freedom of speech and association. Check Mergens which was decided ca. 1991. It protected the right of Christian clubs to meet in public high schools.

Alliance, would they jump to the same conclusions? Would it be considered "sexually oriented", for people from two different ethnic groups to try to understand each other? These people are mean, narrow minded bigots, who will do anything to prevent gays from being seen as exactly what they are...human, like the rest of us. I am so sick of the "right-wing anything" Ms. Wilkerson tries to distance herself from. I don't see any liberal groups pulling stunts like this.

Click on HILLSBOROUGH STUDENTS TARGET OF ANTI-GAY CAMPAIGN

(Tampa) In a despicable act of bigotry, a group of extremists, backed by relatives of Allan Trovillion and the Bell Shoals Baptist Church, is demanding that the Hillsborough County School Board stop students from forming Gay - Straight Alliance organizations (GSAs).


and sign the petition, let's triple the amount of bigoted signatures those ignorant intolerant cowards collected. Anyone that signed their petition of hate and discrimination should be announced in the St. Pete Times as bona fide hate mongers.

"I have a concern because it's children," she said. "We're talking about kids under 18. I don't think it's appropriate to have a club that's sexual in nature meeting on school campuses."

I have to agree to this. Although kids become adults a lot faster than parents like, I'd raw the line a sex club in school. And what else is your choice of sexuality without the sex? Interior Decorating Club? Pastel Shirt Club? Motorcycle Maintainance for Women Club? Village People Appreciation Society? (appologies to the GLBT crowd for stereotyping ;))

I wouldn't want my daughter going to a school gay club, for the same reason I wouldn't want her going to a school BDSM club. She's free to make those choices when she gets older, but give her a chance to grow up first, OK?

I know the organisers want to spread tolerance, but you can do that under a number of banners. Call it the Tolerance club, FFS

Flame away, dudes. :hide:

have sex or not.

And being gay is not a "choice of sexuality".

I don't know where you get this crap.

Fingers not connected to brain - sorry. But the question as to what a gay club would be in the absence of sex is still a valid one.

movies they like, clothes styles, politics, the prom.

Or put another way: Hi, I'm gay. Was that a talk about sex? If so, what do you know about my sex life - and please be specific.

The Pastel Shirt Club.. ;) Seriously, people - gay or otherwise - have a wide range of likes and dislikes. You might as well have a "people born in July" club and see what they do...

And the fact that these clubs have popped up in schools across the country point to a need you choose to ignore.

Similarly, you choose to ignore my question to you: I'm gay - what do you now know about my sex life?

Anyone with half a brain can see his stance has an ulterior motive.

Maybe they'll learn a lesson.

Maybe someone else will.

BDSM is a choice, being GLBT is not. And that's precisely why they need a support group. In fact, it may be more critical in middle school and high school than at any other time in their lives.

It's not about giving them an opportunity to meet people that want to have sex with them. It's about allowing them to meet with others who experience the same ostracization so they can deal with it and unite to change society.

I'd want my kids to have that chance if they were gay.

why limit it to gays? why not include the pagans and atheists, or black kids, or native Spanish speakers? If it's a club about ostracisation and tolerance, there's a hell of a lot of other people who would benefit.

I do thinks it could be a great idea. Just not the way they're selling it.

It's for Allies and Questioning teens as well.

Jesus, get a clue.

I'm so tired of the comments about gays and women on DU.

assertions, that may well be true.

But I'd prefer to give the poster the benefit of the doubt as to simply having failed to think the matter through.

That includes those other groups.

And gay kids in school have a particular set of issues.

I agree that many would benefit from discussing tolerance together. But the challenges of being gay in America are unique, as are those of being black, pagan, atheist, etc. They each warrant having a club of their own.

Look at the damn name before you spout off: Gay-Straight Alliance" its a club for teens, both gays and tolerant straights, whose sole purpose is to help gays with discrimination and to be an outreach program of sorts to educate others that gays aren't evil and shit. I can't believe the ignorance on this thread, they have been around for about a decade, in one form or another, and are in hundreds of schools around the country. That is what the club does, plain and simple.

ON EDIT: decided to make it easy for you, click here:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Gay+Straight+Alliance&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official

You know, education doesn't lead to prejudice, spouting off without facts does, live and learn.

These clubs are NOT SEXUAL IN NATURE. These are clubs that allow STRUGGLING and HURTING GLBTQ students to have a safe place to talk about their common experiences and to not have to worry about getting gay bashed by their homophobic students. This a place where gay and questioning teens can turn to for support.

Shame on you for characterizing gays for being only sexual individuals. It's not about sex.

On your children you are free to prohibit them from doing so.

Make no mistake. This action is to stick it to the gays for getting uppity.

Funny how the fundies love the nanny state when it comes to thier issues. Oh government protect my childrens from the evil gay recruiters!

Makes me sick.

and junior anti-sex league groups.

Most teenage suicides are gay kids. Many runaways are gay kids. Having some support from gay AND straight classmates might help them from going over the edge...

Perhaps "The Tolerance Club"?

This club is about identity...it goes beyond sex. Homosexuality is about love too and I think most people miss that because they are so concerned about hot man on man sex.

As a rule of thumb anytime when I hear somebody use a phrase like "We are not some right wing nuts, but"
or "I don't hate gays I know people that are gay, but" they are probably "right wing nuts that hate gays". Those that feel compelled to disclaim their affiliations before expressing their point of view seem to know the group they identify with is not on the "good" side of things so they try to distance themselves to try and give the views some kind of credence.

waaaay back in 1993, i was a founding member of my boarding school's GSA, and this kinda shit just makes me want to :banghead:

"sexually oriented"...it's the same old, same old. Homophobes rationalize their hate by minimizing being queer as being just about sex. If it's just sex, then it' can be 'a choice', in their twisted minds. No place for love in their hearts, either way. :puke:

My daughter attends a high school in an affluent, educated "upscale" district on Long Island- you'd think people would be pretty progressive (we went blue big time this past November), but when one of the students proposed a Gay-Straight Alliance, she was verbally abused and got a lot of grief when she was circulating the petitions.

She happens to be straight- she is very involved in theater and knows lots of gay kids who told her about the abuse they take ( I know, the old gays in the arts stereotypes- but she happens to know a lot of gay kids who are into the theater). My daughter signed the petition and was totally baffled about why people were opposed to the club.

She said "They have a club for the Black kids, the Asian kids, they have a Christian fellowship - that's less appropriate than a club to try to help people understand each other and get along better." She is one smart girl!

because I thought she felt sorry for them. When she finally came out in college, I was befuddled for about a day or so, then relieved. Hey - she's not neurotic- she's a lesbian! Oh, and by the way, I sure wish we all had realized that a lot sooner. It would have saved a lot of confusion and distress. That's what Gay-Straight Alliance or Gay Support Groups in high schools are about, not sexual activity. We're all incurable romantics in this family and tend to wait for our one true love, if you get what I mean.

Ignorant fuckers....


Jesus Christ this kind of moronic stunt really pisses me off!!

When my mother was in high school, there was a secret society called the Mattress Club, the requirement for which was non-virginity. In order to prove that one wasn't a virgin, one had to have sex in front of everyone else.

This was in the 1930s.