Gay fairy tale sparks
civil rights debate
By Jason Szep,
Reuters from the Web, April 24, 2006
LEXINGTON, MA -- The crown
prince rejects a bevy of beautiful princesses, rebuffing each suitor until
falling in love with a prince. The two marry, sealing the union with a
kiss, and live happily ever after.
That fairy tale about gay marriage has sparked a civil rights debate in
Massachusetts, the only U.S. state where gays and lesbians can legally wed,
after a teacher read the story to a classroom of seven year olds without warning
parents first.
A parents' rights group said on Monday it may sue the public school in the
affluent suburb of Lexington, about 12 miles west of Boston, where a teacher
used the book "King & King" in a lesson about different types of weddings.
"It's just so heinous and objectionable that they would do this," said Brian
Camenker, president of the Parents Rights Coalition, a conservative
Massachusetts-based advocacy group.
Camenker said he believes the school, Joseph Estabrook Elementary, broke a 1996
Massachusetts law requiring schools to notify parents of sex-education lessons.
"There is no question in my mind that the law is being abused here," he said.
"I wouldn't be surprised if in the next couple of weeks there was some kind of
(legal) action taken," he said.
Lexington Superintendent of Schools Paul Ash said the school was under no legal
obligation to inform parents the book would be read to the classroom of about 20
children.
"This district is committed to teaching children about the world they live in.
Seven-year-olds see gay people. They see them in the schools. They
see them with their kids," he said.
"I see this as a civil rights issue. People who are gay have a right to be
treated equally," he said.
"If it were North Carolina, this would be a whole different story. But the
law in Massachusetts is that gay marriage is legal. We have lots of gay
families in Lexington."
The issue erupted in Lexington when parent Robin Wirthlin complained to the
school's principle after her 7-year-old son told her about the reading last
month. She then turned to the Parents Rights Coalition, which released a
statement on the issue to Boston media last week.
Since then, Ash has been swamped by e-mails on the issue from across the
country, some in support but many written in anger including one from a North
Carolina man who threatened "to beat his head into the ground", he said.
"I handed that one to the police," said Ash.
CULTURAL DIVIDE
The issue underscores a growing cultural divide over the issue of gay rights at
a time when legal challenges seeking permission for gays and lesbians to marry
are pending in 10 states. Two U.S. states have legalized civil unions.
It also comes as California considers introducing school textbooks highlighting
the role of gays in its history.
Some legal scholars said the depth of emotion on the issue nationwide means
educators should include parents in the debate on exactly when to start
educating children on homosexuality.
"There is a difference between what is required and what is the right thing to
do," said Charles Haynes, senior scholar at the First Amendment Center, which
produces guidelines for schools and teachers on issues such as same-sex
marriage.
"Some people believe that we are moving toward a kind of normalization of
homosexuality as part of the fabric of our life. Others believe we are
going in the other direction. Because we are now in a fork in the road
where we are debating this, public schools are not the place to settle it," he
said.
"King & King" was ranked eighth among the top 10 books people wanted removed
from libraries in 2004, according to the American Library Association. Its
Berkeley, California publisher, Tricycle Press, said complaints over the 32-page
book first surfaced in 2004 in North Carolina.
An Oklahoma legislator last year cited the book as reason to impose new
restrictions on library collections.
Written by two Dutch women, the book has sold about 15,000 copies in the United
States since it was translated and published in 2002. A sequel, "King,
King and Family," about a royal same-sex family written by the same authors, was
published two years later.
"We believe all children deserve to see themselves in books and these books were
published for the children in gay families and for their friends" said Tricycle
publisher, Nicole Geiger.
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