How did you celebrate Harvey Milk Day? Our pal Eric Ross popped over to a school in San Francisco to read his book, “My Uncle’s Wedding,” to a group of 40 first-graders.
“My Uncle’s Wedding” is a sweet little story of a kid whose uncle is about to marry a dude. In a pleasant, matter-of-fact tone, it walks children through the process of holding a wedding, from picking out cakes to dressing up and saying the vows. Charming!
Of course, this is exactly the sort of thing up with which NOM will not put.
This is what they’re talking about when they talk about “indoctrination” or “teaching gay marriage” in schools: the simple act of acknowledging that gay people exist, they’re a part of every family, and they are just as capable of love and support as anyone else.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Jon John
I’m sorry, when I was 7, I knew I was Gay…I would have liked it if there was some info. on my kind of people. Just like america..leave the blacks out of History, leave the American Indian out of History, leave the Hawaiians out of History, leave the Native Alaskans out of History, leave the Latinos out of history, leave women out of History, leave the Jewish people out of History, and all others that aren’t descendant from Western and Northern European White Males. Okay, it’s worked for White Males for about 350 years here…now it’s time to tell the story of the rest of us. 350 years of political correctness, who knew? all the rest of us, that’s who knew!
dollyknockers
Scandalous! Back in 1988 a book titled, “Jenny lives with Eric and Martin” that was in a number of school libraries here in the UK came to the attention of some extreme conservative politicians and council members and the backlash put the fight for equality back to the start.
The government at the time, fuelled by the disproportionate reaction by the press and right wing groups introduced “Clause 28” which essentially banned any reference to homosexuality in schools. Teachers and those who worked with under 18’s felt that any reference to homosexuality in a lesson would lead to severe repercussions.
How many lives were lost to HIV, which was still seen as a “gay” issue?
How many lives were lost to suicide and self harm, because the kids didn’t know that being gay IS “normal” – just a different “normal” to our straight brothers and sisters?
How many individuals failed to reach their full potential because they were not able to have questions answered.
If gay marriage is allowed throughout the world the worst thing that will happen is….Gays will get married!
JR
Now they just need to start reading: 10,000 Dresses to be Trans inclusive.
jon
It would of been nice to know what gay was before I was crushing like crazy on the boys. A gay book would of been a nice activity in school. Then later in school, gay related sex ed class.
Mike in Asheville
Seemingly, NOM’s somewhat proven war strategy is its claim that same-sex marriage harms children. They say it as though it were a fact carved in stone. And they get away with it because our side, from headless Gay Inc. to local grass-root groups, sheepishly: issue denials, shout homophobia, stick their heads in the sand, stutter apologies, and/or argue “yes, but….”
Look, we have, actually, won the war; now we have to wipe up the battlefields. The movement toward nation-wide legal same-sex marriage is coming and is unstoppable. All independent national surveys show that the American public supports same-sex marriage; showing 8-10% swings from anti- to pro- marriage equality in the last year. With but insignificant exceptions, once someone has been moved from denying marriage rights for gays/lesbians to supporting marriage-equality, they will not reverse their opinion. And each and every year, over 1 million voters (1.6 million x 66% voting = 1 million) over the age of 70 die and are replaced with 1.7 million new 18 year-old voters (4 million x 44% voting).
This means that each year, 650,000 older Americans who oppose marriage-equity and 300,000 who support marriage-equity die (the other 50,000 no opinion) die and are replaced by 500,000 young Americans who oppose marriage-equity and 1.2 million who support us. Overall, each year, as the net 350,000 older voters against same-sex marriage is replaced with a net of 700,000 young voters who support us: OR, we gain nationwide just over 1 million votes.
TO WIN THE ON-GOING BATTLES, which will continue until marriage-equity succeeds nation-wide, we MUST tackle NOM’s only successful argument head-on: Yes, as same-sex marriage becomes legal, children will learn about gay/lesbian couples. It is natural that children are taught the laws of their society; and same-sex marriage becomes law and society makes an acknowledgment of that law. And, as all adults who have experienced public primary education know, teaching about a subject is not an indoctrination.