Blog #3

One of the most prevalent issues facing today’s society is that of gay marriage. Every day, the subject seems to infiltrate culture more and more. Specifically, voters in California are considering a measure that would ban homosexuals from having the same marriage rights as heterosexual individuals. In particular, Proposition 8 would define marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

Focus on the Family’s Mike Haley spoke about the issue of homosexuality at the Torrey Bible Conference. An ex-gay himself, Mr. Haley spoke about his life as a gay man and his transition out of the lifestyle. He told students to focus on God’s faithfulness, which can pull someone through any situation – even one as difficult as leaving the homosexual community. At the end of his talk, Mr. Haley hosted a question-and-answer session addressing students’ questions concerning how to deal with their friends and family members who are struggling with the problem of homosexuality. During this question-and-answer session, he discussed the topic of gay marriage, saying that he was against it and by association, against Prop 8.

Proposition 8 was created in response to the overturning of Prop 22 (which formally defined marriage in California as being between a man and a woman) in May 2002 by California’s Supreme Court. According to “California Official Voter Information Guide,” Prop 22 has three simple goals: 1) to restore the definition of marriage to what the vast majority of California voters already approved, 2) to overturn the outrageous decision of four Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people, and 3) to protect our children from being taught in public schools that “same-sex marriage” is the same as traditional marriage.

Ads against Prop 8 (which began airing this month), featuring Superintendent of Schools Jack O’Connell, state that public schools are not required to teach about marriage. However, the California Department of Education’s website (http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/sexeducation.asp and http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/faq.asp) verifies that 96% of public school districts teach about marriage. In addition, the U.S. District Court ruled that public school teachers in Massachusetts have the constitutional right, not only to instruct their students regarding the alleged normalcy of homosexuality, but to do so without notifying parents (Parker v. Hurley, 2008).

As it is, we’re already seeing the teaching of gay marriage in public schools. On October 10, eighteen first graders from Creative Arts Charter School in San Francisco took a field trip to watch their teacher’s lesbian wedding. The school’s interim director was quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle, on October 11, as calling it a “teachable moment.” Parents could opt to not send their child on the field trip – and two parents did – but as the press secretary for the Yes on 8 campaign told the newspaper, “This is overt indoctrination of children who are too young to have an understanding of its purpose.” According to WorldNetDaily, some parents in Sacramento claim that they weren’t notified that their kindergarteners were learning to be homosexual allies and that they would participate in “Coming Out Day”. As Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, told WorldNetDaily on October 22, “Do we need any further proof that gay activists will target children as early as possible?” he asked. “Opponents of traditional marriage keep telling us that Prop. 8 has nothing to do with education. In reality, they want to push the gay lifestyle on kindergartners, and we can only imagine how much worse it will be if Prop. 8 is defeated. This is not a scenario most Californians want replayed in their elementary schools.”