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National implications: Public hearing on parents' rights bill this Tuesday Oct. 13 at MA State House!

See below:
     * Background
     * David Parker Parents Rights bill  (H406)
     * Planned Parenthood's bill  (H3434)

UPDATED: October 9, 2009

The public hearing before the Education Committee on these bills is Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 1:00 pm in Room A1 as the State House. Please contact us if you can come and testify!

Background

Massachusetts is the country's "ground zero" of homosexual activism targeting public school children. The first "gay straight alliance" clubs in schools were here. Homosexual activist Kevin Jennings (now working in Obama's Dept. of Education) started teaching and founded GLSEN here. The infamous "fistgate" conference was here. The "Little Black Book - Queer in the 21st Century" was handed out to kids here. The Youth Pride parade and GLBT prom take place every May in Boston.

Massachusetts schools have more "gay clubs" and more gay/transgender assemblies, programs, and activities than any other state. Our Legislature has budgeted more taxpayer dollars for homosexual activism than all 49 other states combined, according to estimates.

The state-funded "Commission on Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Youth" consists of radical homosexual and transgender adult activists (including men in dresses and women with beards) who go into schools, use taxpayer money to set up programs, counsel schoolchildren unsupervised, and run Youth Pride Day with kids from across the state.

Current Parental Notification Law is flawed

In 1995 MassResistance (then known as Parents Rights Coalition) wrote and successfully lobbied for the Parental Notification Law (Ch. 71 Sec. 32A) which was signed into law by Gov. Bill Weld in 1996. Unfortunately, the law (which is "opt-out" and is aimed at sex education) has serious flaws and loopholes. In 1995 we did not anticipate the aggressive homosexual agenda in the schools.

David Parker - a parent who stood up and fought back

In 2005, David and Tonia Parker asked that they be notified and allowed to opt their Kindergarten son out of any lessons on homosexuality and transgenderism. The Lexington school system blatantly refused. At one point they had Parker arrested and put in jail overnight when he insisted that they come to an agreement.

Other parents at that same school, Rob and Robin Wirthlin, became upset when their second-grade son was read a book normalizing homosexual romance. The Lexington school system also refused their request to be notified or opt out. The school system was adamant and publicly announced they would continue introducing homosexuality to children in elementary school.

Soon the Parkers, joined by the Wirthlins, filed a federal lawsuit against the town of Lexington and the schools. David Parker was determined to seek justice for all parents in Massachusetts on this issue. He spent $250,000 of his savings on the case.

Parker lost the case in federal court, and lost again on appeal. The judges wrote in their two rulings that current Massachusetts laws allow (and even require) schools to teach all public school children that homosexual behaviors are normal, and that parents have no right to opt out or even be notified before or afterwards. Parents have no choice in the matter.

Furthermore, since the current notification law refers to "human sexuality issues" rather than specifics, the schools successfully argued that homosexuality and transgenderism instead are "civil rights" or "family" issues, etc. And the current law just covers "curriculum" and not other school activities (such as clubs, assemblies, or the "Day of Silence").

David Parker (shown here in handcuffs after being arrested and spending the night in jail) made a huge sacrifice for all of us, not just personally but monetarily. Read more about that here. We owe it to him to see that his extraordinary efforts were not in vain!

After this incident and the lawsuit, the harassment against the Parker family and other people of faith increased, and the schools overtly accelerated their homosexual programs at the elementary level.  The Parker family was forced to home-school their children. Earlier this year they moved out of Massachusetts.

Unfortunately, the Parker case is just the tip of the iceberg. This is happening all over Massachusetts. Parents' rights are being ignored and spat on by out-of-control teachers and administrators working closely with homosexual activist groups.

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The David Parker Parents Rights Bill H406 (and others)

MassResistance has carefully crafted a new bill to address the problems parents face regarding court decisions, and close the loopholes used by schools against parents. It's Bill H406 which we've named the David Parker Parents Rights Bill. It completely re-writes the current Parental Notification Law.

It's a very powerful piece of legislation. It's opt-in, not opt-out. It defines the things introduced in schools which parents want protection from. It includes the broad range of school activities not part of the formal curriculum.

And also, H406 covers the offensive and psychologically intrusive surveys schools ask kids to fill out on sexuality, homosexuality, suicide, drug use, and other topics.

          More on the David Parker Bill H406 HERE

Strongly opposed by homosexual lobby

This bill is exactly what is needed, and can serve as a model for other states. But it's hugely hated by the homosexual lobby, and they've harangued politicians who might support it. So for that reason it's controversial. And several "good" legislators started coming up with flimsy excuses to stay away from it.

When we needed to get it filed this year, we couldn't find a Republican with the guts to sponsor it. They didn't want to take the heat. So we had to get a conservative Democrat to do it, Rep. William Greene (D-Billerica).

Alternative Parents Rights Bill

Bill H437  By: Rep. Brad Jones (R-North Reading)
We could support this bill if necessary since we originally wrote it. It is opt-in and gives reasonably strong protections. It does not include the recent improvements which the David Parker Bill has: (1) it does not enumerate the various "alternative sexual behaviors" that have presented to kids, and (2) it does not address intrusive surveys given to children.

Here's the history of bill H437: Back in 2003, Brian Camenker of MassResistance (formerly Parents Rights Coalition) wrote and submitted Bill H1445 as a much stronger alternative to the current Parental Notification Law. In 2005 we re-submitted it as Bill H1050. In 2007 Rep. Jones re-submitted it as Bill H465. This year Rep. Jones re-submitted it again this year as H437.

Other alternative bills filed by various politicians

As has happened in past years, various well-meaning legislators have filed their own "fixes" to re-write the current Notification Law. This year there are five of them, which are also being taken up at this hearing. Do NOT be fooled. These bills are mostly "opt-in" but DO NOT give the protections necessary.

Bill H472  By: Rep. Elizabeth Poirier (R-North Attleborough)
This is a terrible bill. It replaces the current law with a much weaker law that only covers "sex education", though it is opt-in.

Bill H485  By: Rep. Michael Rush (R-Boston)
Another terrible bill. It simply replaces the current law with a weaker version that allows opt-in but doesn't expand the scope to include homosexuality, etc.

Bill H421 By: Rep. Robert Hargraves (R-Groton)
Hargraves wouldn't file the entire David Parker Bill. So he stripped away most of it and filed just the part he was comfortable with. This doesn't help much.

Bill H403 By: Rep. Mary Grant (D-Beverly)
This bill is just a Trojan Horse. Simply extends the current (flawed) law to include "health education curriculum." It's basically useless. Mary Grant is not pro-family. This is simply done to mollify people regarding the Planned Parenthood bill, which Grant supports.

 

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2. Planned Parenthood's radical bill on compulsory sex-ed, abortion counseling, homosexuality in schools also being heard that day!

Planned Parenthood's compulsory sex-ed bill is also being heard that day. It's back again!

In 2005, Planned Parenthood published a 5-year plan that included the goal of passing a "comprehensive sex education" law that would mandate their sex education / abortion / homosexuality approach in the public schools.

Their vehicle for doing this was to the "Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Curriculum Frameworks", an extremely radical document which was written in 1999 as an "optional guide" for schools. Their plan is to pass a law making this document mandatory to all schools. Among the topics it would require for kids: homosexual "identity", abortion counseling, and gender issues. It would be used as a requirement for passing to higher grades and even graduation.

In 2005 they introduced it as bill H1641 which was pretty blunt about what it wanted to do. We rallied hundreds of parents and it got stopped in committee.

In 2007 they re-introduced it as H597, with softer language but the same basic effect. We rallied hundreds of people and got it stopped in committee then, also.

This year they've re-introduced it again as H3434, with an identical Senate version introduced as H218. Again, it's couched in soft language but it basically does two things: (1) mandates "health education" as a required course [NOTE: MassResistance got it removed as "required" back in the 1990s by intense lobbying the State Board of Education.] and (2) mandates the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Curriculum Frameworks as the official guide that schools must use.

Rep. Mary Grant has introduced a corollary bill, H402, that sneaks "health" and "emotional development" into the list of required topics in schools, which fits into their general scheme.

All three of these bills must be stopped:

Bill H3434 Sponsored by: Rep. Alice Wolf (D-Cambridge)
Bill S218 Sponsored by: Harriette Chandler (D-Worcester)
(Both of these are the same bill -- the main Planned Parenthood bill -- but introduced separately in each branch.)

Bill H402 Presented by: Rep. Mary Grant (D-Beverly)
A corrolary bill to require "health" and "emotional development" be required topics in schools.

As usual, Planned Parenthood is likely pouring enormous resources into this bill judging from its large number of sponsors. They are teaming up with the homosexual lobby and are putting some big muscle to get this passed. This will NOT be easy, but it must be stopped again.