http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52311


'Gay' groups: We have rights to your children!
Brief filed in lawsuit over school promotion of homosexuality

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Posted: October 06, 2006
1:00 am Eastern

© 2009 WorldNetDaily.com





David Parker in handcuffs

A collection of 'gay' organizations has filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a Massachusetts lawsuit, claiming they have every right to teach their doctrine to grade-school students.

Parental rights, according to the brief filed this week, "have never meant that a parent can demand prior notice and the right to opt a child out of mere exposure to ideas in the public schools that a parent disapproves of."

That includes, according to the brief, religious or any other ideas.

The new brief was filed in a Massachusetts District Court lawsuit by Lexington parent David Parker, whose civil rights case is pending, by the Human Rights Campaign, the ACLU, Massachusetts Teachers Association, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders and others.

"The amici organizations urge this court to grant the school defendants' motion to dismiss because the scope of the rights of religious freedom and parental control over the upbringing of children, as asserted by the plaintiffs, would undermine teaching and learning in the Lexington public schools," the brief alleges.

"Why are all these groups – especially the national groups – so interested in a parent's right to decide what moral issues are taught to his children by adults in elementary schools, especially regarding homosexuality," asked Brian Camenker, president of MassResistance.

That group said it is a "pro-family action center for Massachusetts" which equips citizens to fight attacks on freedoms, constitutional government, children and parental rights.

"This is outrageous and very frightening. They must see David Parker's case as quite a threat to their ability to push their message on children," he said.

He said the "true agenda" of the sponsors of the brief is apparent in the demands that the state has a legal obligation to teach homosexual issues to young children in the public schools – and parents do not even have the right to remove their kids or be notified.

Parker was arrested and jailed in Lexington in April 2005 over his request – and the school's refusal – to notify him when adults discuss homosexuality or transgenderism with his 6-year-old kindergartner. That despite a state law requiring such notification.

The incident made news around the nation and even Gov. Mitt Romney agreed with Parker.

However, in April 2006 the same school presented the book "King and King," about homosexual romances and marriage, to second-graders and again refused to provide notification.

Parker and other parents followed with the federal civil rights lawsuit, alleging school officials and the town were refusing to follow state law.

Just days later, David Parker's now-first-grade son, Jacob, was beaten up at Estabrook Elementary in Lexington, officials said. MassResistance said a group of 8-10 kids surrounded him and took him out of sight of "patrolling aides," then pummeled and beat him.

Joining David and Tonia Parker in the lawsuit were Joseph and Robin Wirthlin. They allege district officials and staff at Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington violated state law and civil rights by indoctrinating their children about an immoral lifestyle, circumventing parental responsibilities.

The school is claiming a state law permitting parents to pull their children applies only to classes in which such sensitive topics are the main focus, and the books promoting homosexuality were not the main focus.

In Massachusetts, the 'gay' groups said: "If a parent chooses to have his or her child attend the public schools, that child has a right to a broad and high quality public education, not one constrained by individual parental beliefs."


David Parker's son brought home the book 'Who's in a Family?' in school's 'Diversity Book Bag' (Image: Article 8 Alliance)

The Massachusetts arguments were remarkably similar to a recent European court's conclusion.

The European Human Rights Court just a few weeks ago concluded in a case involving similar objections that parents do not have an "exclusive" right to lead their children's education and any parental "wish" to have their children grow up without adverse influences "could not take priority over compulsory school attendance."

That court said a German family had no right to provide homeschooling for their children.

In the case that originated in Germany, homeschooling parents Fritz and Marianna Konrad argued for that right because they said Germany's compulsory school attendance endangered their children's religious upbringing and promotes teaching inconsistent with the family's Christian faith.

But the court conclude, "The parents' right to education did not go as far as to deprive their children of that experience."

"The (German) Federal Constitutional Court stressed the general interest of society to avoid the emergence of parallel societies based on separate philosophical convictions and the importance of integrating minorities into society," the European ruling said.

interesting

nice misleading title...but as Mirror said, interesting.

..and it's world net daily - completely right wing biased source.

And I didn't have any choice in the school teaching evolution either.

Kat

I have never heard of WND being right wing.With that logic I suppose this story is completly false and made up even if the ACLU is involved right?

Considering the schools deal with kids from all socio backgrounds the teachers need to address these issues, at least to some extent. I don't know how far they should go but to be sure they should always say there is nothing wrong with all types of households. Kids are already prone to be bullied in school so teachers need to keep any bias out of the classroom if they can. The kids already get enough prejudice at home if their parents are.

"Posted: October 06, 2006"
Is this even current?

This school was not even allowing the parents the right to take their children out of these programs.Sounds like brainwashing and prison to me.Our founding fathers are rolling in their graves over this one.

It is acceptable though to push a right wing religious agenda on them? I imagine if the roles were reversed you'd be on the opposite side of this argument.

It's old but I think it's important to how where a lot of this nonsense started.I also think it is very relevant to current news.I am going to post a article concerning California bill 777 shortly which few people know about but non the less could have a huge impact on the the morals of our society.

The rabid velvet wave trying to infect young impressionable minds early on in a hope to expand their sexual field of play polluting young minds with idealism that has no place in grade schools. i would be pissed to find out my grade school aged child was being exposed to that. High school is a different matter but the subject matter would have to be PURELY intellectual and not sexual. That is what sex ed is all about.

Even then touting it as acceptable behavior over common sense is wrong. ignorance is not right but force feeding sex ed of sexual practice down kids throats is way wrong.

Reminds me of the episode of South Park where everyone is so freaked out about sex that they try teaching sex ed to kindergartners who had no idea what any of it was about!

It is one thing for someone to be gay but to be rabid is wrong. That is just as bad as trying to indoctrinate our kids into a life of loose sex and no moral value!

I think we all know your morals, whether we agree with them or not is another story.

What does this have to do with religion at all or right wing?Parents have to right to decide what their children are being taught it is as simple as that.

From what I read somewhere, some of the founding fathers liked indulging too. You know men of the world back then were exposed to alot of different things.

Why would the parent want to make a spectical and pull the child out of the program? Just take the child home and explain his version to the child. Kids are smarter than people give them credit for most of the time.

I read stuff like this and then read the posts people make on it. BELIEVE ME when I say there are two groups if it were up to Me that would be outright silenced.....FOREVER! and that's the looney left and religious right. I would shut down the left first simply because i have absolute contempt for it. I believe society in the U.S.A. would be better off without em.

Hellooooo...have you seen tv as of late? It is all about sex and sexual conduct. The clothes being sold in stores for kids too young to be dressing like that? The magazines..oh my gosh...Teaching starts at home and if it doesn't it will either be the tv, schools or the playground. Mostly it is the playground. Not too many morals there...just a lot of experiments.

What does gay have to do with or without morals?

Kat

When I was a kid, I barely know what homosexuality or bisexuality was.

as an adult, I see it a whole lot.

and my daughter does to. She even has friends that are gay. A lil boy down the road who is 13 is gay. she was the one that told me what trisexuality was.

Im not sure that public education is to blame.

My daughter learned what a lesbian was when she watched "mean girls" a few years ago.