(Columbus, OH) A coalition of pro-family leaders today urges Christian families to be faithful to biblical morality and discerning in the face of false and irresponsible accusations. Christianity and traditional values are not the cause of teen suicides, and attempts to link the two are deceptive and will ultimately harm children.
“Gay” activists nationwide are fueling an effort to indict traditional moral values as “guilty until proven innocent” in some bullying incidents involving teens. Their proposed solutions end up sexualizing teens at young ages into known high-risk behaviors and silencing concerned parents.
Now, the U.S. Department of Education seems to be joining the effort, setting the stage for implicating traditional morality as the cause of some cases of bullying, and using the force of federal government to force pro-homosexual, pro-“transgender” indoctrination programs onto local schools.
“Just say no” to these outrageous and unsubstantiated claims, said Buddy Smith, Executive Vice President, American Family Association ( www.afa.net ). “Bullying can be prevented without endorsing homosexual behavior. Activist adults essentially are saying that American parents who want their kids to avoid high risk homosexual sex acts and remain abstinent until traditional marriage, are harming kids. This is preposterous, and local parents and communities need to resist enforced political correctness.”
Authentic Christians will remember several key concepts from Scripture:
1. Homosexual behavior is always a sin, God’s plan for sexuality is male/female marriage, and God has not changed His mind about this (Genesis 19; Leviticus 18:22; Matthew 19:4-6; Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
2. Jesus described marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and that humans were created male and female “from the beginning.” Gender change is a defiant and ungrateful sin against God’s direction and design (Matthew 19:4-6)
3. Violence against children is wrong. Jesus was very clear in his protection of children and also had harsh words for those who would forbid children from knowing His truth and love ( Luke 17:2; Luke 18: 15-16) “Gay” activists want to keep children from knowing, loving and following the real Jesus Christ. At the very least, schools must not interfere in the desires of parents to raise their own children to follow Christ and live out biblical morality.
4. School boards aid child corruption and insult faithful families when they allow “gay-straight alliances,” homosexual indoctrination programs, permission for use of opposite sex restrooms, and any of the other ridiculous demands of the “gay” lobby.
“None of this is related to the real issue of bullying,” said Linda Harvey, president of Mission America (www.missionamerica.com ), who has been monitoring the homosexual agenda directed to youth for fifteen years. ”Any incidents of bullying and name-calling can be punished without forcing acceptance of offensive behaviors. Communities must not allow themselves to be manipulated into supporting pro-homosexual bullying prevention plans, and believers in Jesus Christ need to stand up against this corruption of youth.”
“Traditional morality is not responsible for harassing speech. Are healthy nutrition programs or the First Lady’s anti-obesity initiative responsible for slurs and insults to overweight students? Of course not,” Harvey said. “Bullies act for a variety of reasons, and schools need to punish the behaviors, not become the thought police. Administrators who use good judgment will refuse to aid and abet false accusations.”
"All victims of violence should have equal access to justice, with no group given special treatment, preference, or protection over another," said Gary Glenn, President, American Family Association of Michigan. "Yet if we understand the new federal guidelines correctly, they establish special protections for, for example, a male student who is bullied for wearing a dress to school, while a young woman who is bullied because she's seen praying at lunch is denied equal access to the same protection under federal law. This specially anointed victimhood status for some, but not for others, makes clear why the last thing we need patrolling the halls of our local schools is a federally appointed bullying monitor."
“It’s time that extremists stop exploiting tragedy to push a selfish political agenda,“ said J. Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs of Liberty Counsel (www.lc.org ). “Liberal pressure groups have been shameless. They use talk of ‘bullying’ as a Trojan Horse to silence traditional values. Yes, anti-bullying policies are appropriate and necessary, but we a need broad, comprehensive anti-bullying strategy; not legislation rooted in segregation and discrimination, which singles out one special interest group for preferred treatment over others. Ironically, this unseemly political push actually amounts to ‘Bull Connor bullying’ on the part of homosexual activists.”
“The CDC reports that in 2006 more than 33,000 suicides occurred in the United States, ninety-one suicides per day, one every sixteen minutes. Every suicide is tragic, no matter the age of the victim. The recent suicides of students who identify as homosexual are being used by homosexual activists and others who are seeking to force the rest of the country to accept the homosexual lifestyle as normal. These activists are attempting to bully into submission those who hold traditional moral values. These attempts to bully do not change what the Bible says about the sin of homosexuality or any other sin,” remarked Diane Gramley, president of the American Family Association of Pennsylvania.
Traditional values always help families and students, not the opposite, as extremists are trying to claim.
These pro-family leaders have signed on to this statement:
Buddy Smith, Executive Vice President, American Family Association
Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Mathew D. Staver, Founder and Chairman, Liberty Counsel
Peter LaBarbera, President, Americans for Truth
Gary Glenn, President, American Family Association, Michigan
Diane Gramley, President, American Family Association of Pennsylvania
Micah Clark, American Family Association of Indiana
J. Matt Barber, Director of Cultural Affairs, Liberty Counsel
Rena Lindevaldson, Associate Director, Liberty Center for Law & Policy
Matt C. Abbott, Catholic columnist,RenewAmerica.com
