Free Republic

A bill requiring students to learn about the contributions homosexuals have made to society and that would remove sex-specific terms such as "mom" and "dad" from textbooks has passed another hurdle on the way to becoming the law of the land in California. Having already been approved by the state's Senate Judiciary Committee, SB 1437, which would mandate grades 1-12 buy books "accurately" portraying "the sexual diversity of our society," got the nod yesterday of the Senate Education Committee. The bill also requires students hear history lessons on "the contributions of people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender to...

David Parker says the past year has made him think more than ever about what it means to be a good father. He wants what's best for his two young sons, but it has put him at odds with the community in which he lives. ''We have to know what other adults are saying to our children," Parker said during a recent interview in his Lexington home. He and his wife, Tonia, felt their son's school was not upfront about presenting topics that the Parkers deem contentious in his kindergarten classroom. In January, their youngest son brought home a "diversity...

Massachusetts man who was arrested after objecting to the discussion of homosexuality and transgenderism in his son's kindergarten class is no longer being barred from all school property in the town of Lexington. Nevertheless, he says his dispute with the school district is far from settled. In April, Lexington parent David Parker was arrested and jailed after refusing to leave Estabrook Elementary School until administrators acknowledged his right to be notified before adults discussed homosexuality and other controversial sexuality issues with his son in class. At the same time, the Lexington schools superintendent issued a ban against him, prohibiting him...

Letter: Public schools have to be welcoming to all Thursday, November 3, 2005 Your right to swing your fist ends at my nose. Your right to freedom of speech does not allow you to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater. Your right to drive as fast as your car will go is curtailed by speed limits which are set for public safety. In general, the right to do anything that has the potential to harm others, or to conflict with the rights of others, may be constrained for the common good. I sympathize with the Parker family's (and every family's)...

Last week in Massachusetts, a concerned father took a cheap shot at martyrdom when he refused to post bail after being arrested for trespassing on school property. Care to guess what made this man plant himself outside his son's kindergarten classroom? He was apparently outraged by a booklet his son brought home that introduced all the different kinds of families. Since gay marriage is thankfully legal in the New England state, the booklet of course included same sex couples and their children. What an outrage. How dare public education attempt to combat prejudice through knowledge. The real outrage in this...

Letter: Upset with author for harsh words used Thursday, October 27, 2005 I was both dismayed and amused to read the condescending, patronizing letter several weeks ago from David Parker’s attorney castigating Eric Eid-Reiner for his youth. Everything Mr. Eid-Reiner has written has been more sensible, cogent, objective, measured and mature than anything I have seen from Parker’s attorney, including his long-winded, rambling “apologia” about Parker (that he had to relinquish a big house in New Jersey when he was transferred to this area, and isn’t “anti-gay” because he once, in fact, had a gay friend who became ill, are...

It was a quiet end to what has been an involved and controversial issue in Lexington. David Parker, the Estabrook Elementary School parent arrested in April after refusing to leave school property, was given pre-trial probation after the Middlesex County District Attorney's office and Parker's lawyers agreed to resolve the case out of court. Parker will be on probation for one year. If he maintains the conditions of the probation, which include not violating all lawful orders, the complaints against him will be dismissed. Under the agreement, the no trespass order from the school department still stands. After his arrest,...

School dispute persists after plea deal struck By Tania Ralli, Globe Correspondent | October 27, 2005 A plea agreement in Concord District Court last week has cleared the way for a trespassing charge to eventually be dropped in the case of a Lexington father who is embroiled in a divisive debate about what should be taught in Lexington schools. But the heart of David Parker's dispute with school officials has not disappeared. Parents and community members continue to examine what role schools should play in teaching children about sensitive social issues. Judge Robert McKenna accepted the deal last Thursday that...

''BROOKLINE HIGH teens face charges of statutory rape," read the headline in Wednesday's Boston Globe. The story below reported that two 17-year-old boys at Brookline High School -- a celebrated institution whose graduates include former Governor Michael Dukakis, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, and CBS newsman Mike Wallace -- have been charged with statutory rape for having sex with a 15-year-old girl, a classmate who said the sex was consensual. This is the third time since February that students at the school have been accused of having sex with a minor. The Globe story ran about 1,000 words --...

Parents press for consent before school sex surveys By Brian Kladko, Globe Correspondent | October 23, 2005 Some Massachusetts parents, outraged that schools quiz their children about sexual behavior, are pushing the state to require parental permission before posing questions like these: ''During the past three months, with how many people did you have sexual intercourse?" ''Have you ever given or received oral sex?" ''Which of the following best describes you: heterosexual, bisexual, gay or lesbian, not sure, or none of the above?" Such questions -- posed in confidential, anonymous surveys conducted by state or local school districts -- are...

Father avoids trial in dispute over gay lifestyle teachings October 20, 2005 CONCORD, Mass. --Prosecutors have agreed to drop the charges against a Lexington father who refused to leave school property after demanding that school officials notify him before any discussion of homosexuality in his son's kindergarten class. David Parker, whose case prompted rallies by both supporters and critics, was scheduled to go to trial on Thursday for a misdemeanor trespassing charge. Under the agreement struck this week with Middlesex County prosecutors, Parker will be on probation for a year, after which the charges will be dropped if Parker stays...

Lexington, Mass. — David and Tonia Parker are asking their neighbors in this liberal town for one consideration: Tolerance. The Parkers believe homosexuality is immoral. So they were appalled when their son brought a picture book home from kindergarten that showed families with same-sex parents. To ensure his "spiritual safety," they demanded the right to pull him out of class whenever homosexuality was discussed. To deny them that right, they say, would be intolerant of their faith. School administrators offer a different take on tolerance. They say it's their job to expose children to the world's diversity. Supt. Paul B....

Kindergarten Cop Parent Wages Ideological War After School Gives Son Book About Same-Sex Marriage BY JAKE TAPPER and AVERY MILLER "My wife and I have religious beliefs that say to us it's a sin," David Parker said. He's referring to four pages in a book his 5-year-old son was given by his Massachusetts kindergarten teachers. The book "Who's In a Family" -- included in a "diversity book bag" for students at Estabrook Elementary School -- is about all kinds of families, including multi-racial, single parent, and, to Parker's chagrin, same-sex parents. There are two main issues in this controversy, which...

Lawyer says state to drop case vs. Lexington father But standoff with school to continue A Lexington man arrested after demanding that school officials inform him before his son's kindergarten class discussed homosexuality has reached an agreement with state prosecutors to have his case dismissed without an admission of guilt, his lawyer said yesterday. David Parker, 42, was arrested and charged with trespassing at Joseph Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington on April 27, after he refused to leave until school officials assured him that he would be notified in advance of any teaching about homosexuality. Parker's trial on a criminal...

The Parent Trap By John Leo Oct 2, 2005 Columnist, U.S. News & World Report David and Tonia Parker of Lexington, Mass., saw a red flag when their son came home from kindergarten last January with a “diversity book bag” that included Who’s in a Family, a book promoting acceptance of gay marriage. The Parkers thought it was their right, as parents, to decide when and how to introduce their son to the issue of homosexuality. The Parkers believed the public school, Estabrook, is right to be teaching tolerance of gays but wrong in raising the subject in kindergarten and...

Letter: Upset with words of high school student Thursday, September 29, 2005 It was with great disgust that I read a letter in the most recent issue concerning an interview in which I participated after the recent rally in Lexington Center. Due to concerns by the police, my client David Parker was not permitted to cross Massachusetts Avenue to participate in a live interview with Barry Nolan. At the very last moment, I was asked to stand in for Mr. Parker and did so. According to a letter written by Eric Eid-Reiner, of Russell Road, I made the statement that...

On Sept. 21, David Parker was scheduled to go on trial in Lexington, Mass., for an incident that resulted from him disputing the 'right' of a local public school to introduce his then-5-year-old son to the issue of homosexuality. The Parkers wanted to control the timing and content of that discussion. His trial has been delayed. The Parker conflict, the ferocity of community reaction, and the trial's delay constitute a microcosm within the culture war raging between conservatives, liberals and everyone in between. Even kindergarten children are not spared. Before exploring how the second Battle of Lexington typifies the larger...

Superintendent instructs schools: "Parents do not have to be informed about 'diversity' classes." After a Massachusetts school board decided to incorporate so-called diversity training in its classes, which includes indoctrination in the homosexual lifestyle, local superintendent Paul Ash notified schools that parents need not be contacted about the program. Last April, as reported by LifeSiteNews.com, one parent of a six-year-old kindergartner, David Parker, was arrested, allegedly for "trespassing" at his son's elementary school while attending a scheduled meeting with the principal and the city's director of education. He had arranged a meeting to object to the homosexual curriculum materials and...

Letter: Good to see support of board members Thursday, September 22, 2005 As a longtime resident of Lexington I was very proud to be a part of the outpouring of support for our schools last week. I was also pleased to see the many elected officials who stood with us. We elect School Committee members in part to make sure the values of our community are reflected within the school system. Therefore, I was happy that all of the members of the School Committee either showed up for the Lexington C.A.R.E.S. counter-vigil on Sept. 6 or sent words of support....

Ash: What does the law say schools have to do? By Paul Ash Thursday, September 22, 2005 Over the summer, I have received a number of questions about implementation of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 71, Section 32A ("Section 32A"). These questions relate to the following provision: Every city, town, regional school district or vocational school district implementing or maintaining curriculum which primarily involves human sexual education or human sexual issues shall adopt a policy ensuring parental/guardian notification. Such policy shall afford parents or guardians the flexibility to exempt their children from any portion of said curriculum through written notification to...