Attacks on gay students no big deal to the religious right

The American Family Association's One News Now seems to be up in arms about the bill from Congressman Jared Polis which is aimed at stopping the bullying of gay students in America's schools:

Concern is rising over a bill in Congress that would provide special protections for students who claim they are discriminated against because of their "perceived sexual orientation."

Earlier this year, Colorado representative Jared Polis introduced a bill known as The Student Non-Discrimination Act, or H.R. 4530. The Democrat claimed the legislation would put homosexual students on "equal footing" with their peers, much as Title VI of the Civil Rights Act did for minorities and Title IX did for women.

Neal McCluskey (Cato Institute)But Neal McCluskey, associate director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute, believes the government is using this bill to try and give people protective status based on their class.

"When government starts to say, 'No, because you belong to this group you get extra protection,' that's very disturbing," he comments. "We want equal protection under the law."

McCluskey adds that this legislation holds a more specific problem.

"It's such a broad definition that any student who might say anything remotely critical about homosexual lifestyles, any opinion they might have, could be punished under this law," he explains. "And if they're not punished for expressing what's a totally valid opinion, then the school could be punished, and that simply isn't acceptable in a free society because it curbs people's free speech rights."

The article is standard example of how not to write a news story on so many levels. First of all, "concern is rising" from whom? I'd venture to say no one but those guillible to take in this article as truth.

Secondly, the article does not say just what "special" or "extra" protection gay students would receive."Special protection" is another way of saying "special rights," which is an old religious right talking point about gays and lesbians

Lastly, McCluskey's statement can be seen differently if one would add just a few changes:


McCluskey adds that this legislation holds a more specific problem.

"It's such a broad definition that any student who might say anything remotely critical about homosexual lifestyles (like calling a gay student a "faggot,") any opinion they might have, could be punished under this law," he explains. "And if they're not punished for expressing what's a totally valid opinion (like threatening the gay student with violence), then the school could be punished (for not protecting the gay student), and that simply isn't acceptable in a free society because it curbs people's free speech rights. (because students should be free to call gay students derogatory names or threaten their lives)."

Okay, maybe I took too many liberties with McCluskey's words but I did so to make a point about him and One News Now.

The bullying of gay students is a huge problem in our nation's schools. There are too many stories of children getting beat up or committing suicide because of homophobia.

And those are the stories we know about. Let us not forget the children who are forced to drop out of school because of the attacks against them - students who are robbed of an education and the ability of achieving their full potential simply because of the ignorance of other students and the inability of schools to address the problem.

It is an issue that needs to be tackled with intensity instead of being minimized by a pseudo Christian publication and a thinktank syncophant.

Related article:

'Smear the Queer': Gay Students Tell Their Stories

H.R. 4530 – The “Student Non-Discrimination Act” (SNDA)