Dad on trial over homosexual book [Parent jailed for objecting to school curriculum]

worldnetdaily.com ^ | September 21, 2005

[grundle]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46431

BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS

Dad on trial over homosexual book

District banned him from property after dispute at meeting

Posted: September 21, 2005

1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

The trial of a Massachusetts man who was arrested after disputing the teaching of homosexuality in his son's kindergarten class has been continued until next month.

In April, David Parker, of Lexington, spent a night in jail and was charged with criminal trespassing after refusing to leave a scheduled meeting with officials at the Estabrook Elementary School unless they gave him the option of pulling his child out of certain classes.

Parker says the officials had indicated they would agree to a notification policy then suddenly refused. He insists he has done nothing wrong and is willing to contest the charge rather than plea-bargain.

The Lexington School Board contends Parker deliberately set out to be arrested and make national headlines.

Parker's attorney, Jeffrey Denner, rejected that claim, arguing Parker engaged in extensive communication with the school, at the invitation of officials, intending to "establish a dialogue to protect his own children and other children as well."

The dispute began last spring when Parker's then-5-year-old son brought home a book to be shared with his parents titled, "Who's in a Family?" The optional reading material, which came in a "Diversity Book Bag," depicted at least two households led by homosexual partners.

Article 8 Alliance, an advocacy group supporting Parker that opposes same-sex marriage, says that with the national publicity the case already has generated, the District Attorney's office appears reluctant to go forward with a trial, and would probably prefer to have Parker accept a plea-bargain that includes probation.

But Parker insists he has done nothing wrong and represents a danger to no one.

A no-trespass order issued against him by the school – which includes all district property – is "simply an intimidation tactic" against anyone who might protest the school's pro-homosexual policies regarding elementary school children, Article 8 says.

Parker cannot drop off or pick up his children from school; attend his children's sports events or other school activities; meet with his children's teachers at parent-teacher conferences; attend or participate in school committee meetings; or even vote on election day at his local polling place, a public school.

The illustrated book, according to Article 8, says, "A family can be made up in many different ways" and includes this text:

"Laura and Kyle live with their two moms, Joyce and Emily, and a poodle named Daisy. It takes all four of them to give Daisy her bath."

Another illustrated page says:

"Robin's family is made up of her dad, Clifford, her dad's partner, Henry, and Robin's cat, Sassy. Clifford and Henry take turns making dinner for their family."

Article 8 says the book "uses subtle but powerful emotions to normalize homosexual relationships in the minds of the young children."

A backer of the Lexington School District, Laura Tully, argued, according to WCVB-TV in Boston, "A 5-year-old who is coming to the classroom with two moms deserves to be in a classroom that includes books that show his family."

The jury trial was to begin today at 9 a.m. at Concord District Courthouse, but the judge postponed the case another month. Why?

"The Superintendent of Schools has said he hasn't had time to make a decision yet," Article 8's Brian Camenker points out in an Agape Press report. "Now, one has to think, it's been all summer. It's been in the news. How can he not make a 10-minute decision? But this is what he claims."

Thus, the judge has given the superintendent one more month to decide whether to keep the no-trespass order in place, adds Camenker, or whether to discontinue the ban preventing Parker from setting foot on school grounds.

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

I didn't write that democractic values were ambiguous. I wrote that the questoin was impossible to answer.

We all probably have some basic instinct as to what are not democratic values. Defining exactly what they are is obviusly not as easy.

So, to use a double negative and try and asnwer Calpernia's questions too:

I support pay to play if what is being promoted are not undemocratic values.

My question in return is: do you think the United States is or ever was a perfect democracy?

[Tax-chick]

many of these young adult parents belive there is nothing wrong with homosexuals themselves

I'm sure that's true ... but even then, they should be concerned, in my opinion, about the waste of time and resources on this claptrap.

I believe that homosexual behavior is wrong, but I don't think schools should waste any time discussing that with kindergarteners. It's not appropriate or useful.

[Calpernia]

No. It is a Republic.

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

Ok, but a democratic republic.

Within that context, are its or have its democratic values ever been perfect?

[stevestras]

My son is sort of in kindergarten now, will turn 5 soon and attend kindergarten next year. If people like this guy weren't out there, I'd probably never hear about what is actually going on.

I'm disgusted by the indoctrination attempts of the radical left. Glad some people are standing up and bringing attention to the issue.

[StonyBurk]

Most definately DO Agree.If GW Bush is a Conservative,and
represents the Conservatives who put him in the WhiteHouse
twice--then why has he acted more like a liberal Democrat than he has a Christian Conservative? He is IMO a UN(iter)
Have not seen him do anything contrary to the United Nations
charter and goals. The braying of the"progressive" Jacki is to decieve the people and distract from their celibrations.
The Republican agenda is NOT different from the Democrat
except in minutia of degrees.

[Calpernia]

I don't support pay to play. I don't support it because it is corrupt.

Taking money to promote an agenda is unethical.

This Diverse Family agenda got into the curriculum through pay to play.

Being an unperfect system is no defense IMO.

[LexBaird]

There is no sexual component to the less. This is not sex education. It is simply a matter of saying, this is how human beings form groups with one another.

Don't be naive. It isn't about how humans form "groups". It's about trying to redifine families. A family is a socially sanctioned unit of related people, joined in order to raise the next generation in a stable environment, and to produce continuity between the generations of society.

Suppose the lifestyle in question was not homosexuality, but sadomasochism. "Johnny lives with his dad, Bruno, and his dad's slave, Kitten, and their trained pony, Stud."

[William Terrell]

In post # 93 You said, "That condition is that the issue being promoted is consistent with democratic values."

Then a poster asked you what "democratic values" were, to which you replied, "This is obviously a question which is impossible to answer."

Ambiguous: having no intrinsic or objective meaning; not organized in conventional patterns.

. . .having more than one possible meaning.

. . .open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance.

If the question, what does "democratic values" mean is impossible to answer, that term is ambiguous.

But the point was, how can you judge if something is consistent with "democratic values" is you can define the term beyond ambiguity?

[verity]

"The charges sound like an abuse, to me. What constitutes criminal trespassing - and justifies an arrest and a night in jail - when there is a scheduled public meeting with an elected body?"

I do not disagree with you. I only object to the media type hype headlines.

[Einigkeit_Recht_Freiheit]

You seem a bit too bright for someone in Alabama. That and the blue apple makes me wonder how you can stand it.

Of course, technically you are correct that, although I did not actually write the words, "democratic values are ambiguous", I used the definition of ambiguous to describe what demcratic values are.

However, we are actually talking about something here that is ambiguous. We can subsititute the word "American " for "democratic" and still be in the same position.

What we ultimately have here is a gray zone. In contrast to Calpernia's absolute yes or no statement, there are circumstances in which pay to play - nazi propaganda for instance - should not be allowed. The process is part of the constant change through which free and open societies go. When the given circumstance does not threaten the further existence of a free and open society, then it should be permitted. Otherwise, not.

In this article we have the situation in which a great number of people believe that the results of the efforts of the pressure group should be allowed. There are also those, such as the father, who do not. It is also part of the process. I belong to the former group, but respect the opinion of those who belong to the latter.

[Tired of Taxes]

Thank God my children are done with the corrupt reprobate government school system. I pray it will be totally destroyed from within befor emy grandaughter is of age to be indoctrinated by the atheistic humanists,in rebellion against God and embracing the wickness of the world.Being a christian in America today -makes one an enemy of the godless State.

The truth is, most of the parents who put their children in public school are Christian, albeit some watered-down version, I suppose, and many of them do agree with these types of teachings. I, on the other hand, for example, am nonreligious, and I oppose those teachings and home-educate my children, as do others I know. So, it doesn't really cut clearly across those lines.

I think this Massachusetts father should pull his son out of the school and home-educate him. He seems to be keeping him in the school so that he can continue the fight, but in the meantime he's leaving his son in the hands of the people he's fighting. What better protest than to simply remove the child?

But, hey, what do I know? This father is offended by such advice, for some reason.

[ProudGOP]

As a Libertarian, do you believe that parents have the right to raise their children in the way they see fit?

Specifically, do you believe that parents have the right to shield their children from topics they deem harmful or too advanced for their age?

[longfellow]

WHAT WAS THE BOOK TITLE, "THE PINK SWASTIKA" ?

[miss marmelstein]

And I was irked that we didn't get more details on Clifford & Henry's recipe variations from "Gourmet" or how to locate that perfect Louis XIII bidet. What a lousy book!

[Tired of Taxes]

Hi there. I noticed this conversation going on... I consider myself a libertarian (with a few exceptions). Note the small-l, but I do agree with much of the LP platform.

I don't consider myself a full-fledged libertarian. I do believe the needs of the whole must occassionaly overrule the needs of the individual.

A "libertarian" opposes majority-rule, and thus would oppose government-run schools altogether. One of the issues on the LP platform is "separation of school and state." That means no truancy laws, no forced learning of anything. Teaching children would be the parents' responsibility in a free market.

So, under the LP or even the small-l libertarian plan, the gov't wouldn't be teaching children things that their parents oppose because the gov't wouldn't be teaching children at all. (I see nothing wrong with a few limited exceptions, here and there, like a local reading program, but nothing required by law).

Just wanted to clear that up because there seems to be a number of Democrats calling themselves "libertarian" now. (Not that you are, Einigkeit, but I know other people doing so).

[sauropod]

We're all multicultural now...

[Revolting cat!]

If pederasty were 'normal' as the German insists, they wouldn't have to disguise its name with pleasant sounding euphemisms such as 'gaiety', or cleverly dress it up using cuddly animal pets, as Publius6961 observes.

What else is 'normal'? Necrophilia? Bestiality? Why not? People "are born" necrophiliacs, after all!

[bizeemommie]

You know, I would have thought that too, except the school district I live in doesn't schedule days for conferences. She sent off the note with days and times she was available and these conferences were done on her own time. If I wanted a conference with my kids' teachers, I had to request one.

And why didn't the parents respond to your letter for a conference? Of course, I agree that it is a little tricky, but shame on the them for not making the time to come and see their child's teacher. This is what I mean when I say that there are a lot of parents that don't really care much anymore. Here is a little wrist slap for you.. *tap*..now, all is forgiven. lol

[rfreedom4u]

Hhmmmm.... should I home school my child or have the government HOMO school my child?