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02/13/2008
TN Rep: Ignore the gays behind the curtain
We recently told you about Tennessee State Rep. Stacey Campfield and the legislation he is pushing that would ban the LGBT community from being mentioned in any capacity in the state's public schools. Well today we stumbled on an updated article concerning the bass-ackwards endeavor, so we thought we'd show you a few quotes that Rep. Campfield contributed to the piece:
#1 "Without heterosexuality you wouldn't be able to teach biology"
#2 "'Jack and Jill went up the hill' - some organizations say you can't teach that because it pushes a heterosexual agenda"
#3 "I don't think our schools have reading, writing and arithmetic down enough to start teaching about transgenderism"
We respond:
#1 "If heterosexual sex fits into the realm of biology, then where exactly does gay sex fit? Home Ec? We don't think so. Despite others' belief to the contrary, homosexual intercourse is a biological process in which animals engage. Please, Mr. Campfield, don't extend the conservative war on science any further than it's already reached"
#2 "The idea that anyone wants to ban Jack and Jill is a far-right red herring. We love those lil' hill-climbing heteros. What we really want is inclusive teaching which has room for the full spectrum of societal normalcy. You know, to ACTUALLY INCLUDE THE LGBT KIDS WHO EXIST WITHIN TENNESSEE SCHOOLS!"
#3 "If Tennessee schools aren't doing so well with the fundamentals, then Mr. Campfield: THAT IS THE PROBLEM YOU SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON! But regardless of how the Volunteer State is performing in terms of English and Math, that's not going to change the fact that LGBT people do, in actuality, exist with the state lines. And when speaking about situations where discussions of their lives organically arise (when talking about the issues of the day, heath class, sex ed, history, etc), it is absolutely galling to suggest that heterosexism should trump reality!"
But hey, what does this writer know about any of this? After all, I'm only a former Tennessean who moved to NYC the first chance I got, in large part to escape the sort of biased mindset that almost destroyed my childhood psyche!
Rep. Campfield wants gay references banned in schools
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