Mass. Senate releases FY2011 state budget. Gives huge money for homosexual activism in schools -- while cutting nearly everything else
Shows the power of the homosexual lobby at State House
The madness continues
POSTED: May 2, 2010
How bad are things this year? Let's start by putting things into perspective.
As the Boston Globe recently observed, the FY2011 budget passed by the Massachusetts Senate makes across-the-board cuts at almost every level of state government. Local aid and school funding are cut by $160 million, which will cause teacher layoffs and larger class sizes. The judiciary is being cut by $8 million. Higher education is being cut by $51 million and UMass students are having their fees raised by $1100. State homes for mentally disabled people are being closed, to the outrage of many families. The state will even be closing bathrooms and visitor centers at highway rest stops. The list goes on and on.
But there's one budget area that's being raised tremendously: Homosexual programs in the public schools under the Commission for Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Youth.
You read that correctly. That's because right now the homosexual movement has the strongest lobby in the State House. Both the House Speaker and Senate President have personally raised money for the homosexual lobby. They get what they want from your elected officials.
Last year, as we've reported, the homosexual lobby (including the GLBT Commission) got no direct money whatsoever for their programs in the public schools. In his draft FY2011 budget released this past January, Gov. Deval Patrick, although a staunch pro-gay advocate, also gave them no money. But both the House and Senate have showered the homosexual activists with taxpayer funding for public school programs in their recently released versions.
Last week the Senate passed its version of the FY 2011 budget. It includes:
- A new budget item giving $100,000 directly to the Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth.-- which uses that money to push homosexuality and transgenderism to kids in grades K-12. It also funds other radical homosexual and transgender groups that target kids in the schools.
- A budget item gives the Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth an unspecified (i.e., unlimited) part of $11.7 million, which it shares with "school health services and school-based health centers in public and non-public schools." Since the GLBT Commission gets an unspecified amount of that, it could mean millions of dollars.
Also in the Senate budget:
- $100,000 goes to anti-bullying programs "for the purposes of offering a no-cost method to schools and districts for professional development to build the skills of all staff members." As we pointed out when we reported on the pro-homosexual anti-bullying legislation recently passed, the national homosexual group GLSEN has no-cost training all ready to go, and will most likely be the ones getting the money - as they planned when they pushed that language in the bill.
- An unspecified (and thus unlimited) part of a $5.9 million pot of money will go to "crisis housing for sexual violence and intimate partner violence in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community." This begs the question, if these relationships are so normal and stable, why are the taxpayers now being asked to pay millions of dollars for this service?
[See the full text of those four budget items BELOW]
Passed without a problem
As far as we've been able to tell, none of this nonsense by the Senate was contested, even by Republicans. And apparently since the Senate Ways and Means Chairman, Sen. Stephen Panagiotakos (D-Lowell), is not running for re-election, he doesn't feel the need to answer to his constituents. It's a lot easier to roll with the homosexual lobby. (We've got to change that!)
Just to make sure the politicians get the message, the homosexual lobby carried on a mini PR campaign in the press during the budget debates. Our award for most chutzpah goes to the nauseating AIDS Action Committee which published an op-ed in the Boston Globe titled "Back to the beginning in the HIV fight" where they argued for state-funded "comprehensive sex education in our schools" with an emphasis on advice for "gay and bisexual men" with their usual line of medical quackery. The AIDS Action Committee is the same group that published that truly hideous "health" guide, "The Little Black Book: Queer in the 21st Century" (which they're still distributing!).
Arrogance and disinterest by politicians
It's quite breathtaking to engage some of these legislators, even the so-called "good" ones, on this issue. They are all more interested in "getting along" than doing the right thing, and are fairly arrogant about that. They're not particularly interested how this affects vulnerable kids. A few of them may grumble privately, but none of the 200 legislators in that building has the guts to say anything publicly. As we said, we need to change that.
Here is the full text of the four budget items:
Note that when referring to the Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth they use the false and misleading terms "safety", "suicide and violence prevention", and "reduction of health disparities." In fact, the money goes to fund "gay clubs" in middle schools and high schools, gay- and transgender-themed assemblies, speakers, and library books, off-campus events with adults, events such as the "Day of Silence", workshops, counseling sessions, and much more that could never be legitimately defended on their own merits. The commission's recent "recommendations" include more gay clubs in middle schools, required homosexual programs in "health" class, and mandated gay diversity training for teachers.
0950-0050 For the Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth; provided, that funds shall be used to address issues impacting gay and lesbian youth including, but not limited to, health disparities for GLBT Youth, the support and safety of gay and lesbian students and related suicide and violence prevention efforts . . . $100,000
4513-1130 For domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and victim services, including batterers' intervention and services for immigrants and refugees; provided, that funds shall be expended for rape prevention and victim services, including the statewide Spanish language hotline; and provided further, that funds shall be expended for the public health model of community engagement and intervention services for crisis housing for sexual violence and intimate partner violence in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. . . $5,908,264
7010-0005 For the operation of the department of elementary and secondary education provided further, that not less than $100,000 shall be allocated for the purposes of offering a no-cost method to schools and districts for professional development to build the skills of all staff members, including but not limited to, educators, administrators, school nurses, cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, athletic coaches, advisors to extracurricular activities and paraprofessionals, to prevent, identify, and respond to bullying; provided further, that the content of such professional development shall include, but not be limited to developmentally appropriate strategies to prevent bullying incidents; developmentally appropriate strategies for immediate, effective interventions to stop bullying incidents; information regarding the complex interaction and power differential that can take place between and among a perpetrator, victim and witnesses to the bullying; research findings on bullying, including information about specific categories of students who have been shown to be particularly at risk for bullying in the school environment; information on the incidence and nature of cyber-bullying; and internet safety issues as they relate to cyber-bullying; and provided further that said no-cost method may also include a "train-the-trainer" model, so-called, with demonstrated success . . . $13,200,000
4590-0250 For school health services and school-based health centers in public and non-public schools; provided, that services shall include, but not be limited to: (a) strengthening the infrastructure of school health services in the areas of personnel, policy development, programming and interdisciplinary collaboration; (b) developing linkages between school health services programs and community health providers; (c) incorporating health education programs, including tobacco prevention and cessation activities in school curricula and in the provision of school based health services; and (d) incorporating obesity prevention programs, including nutrition and wellness programs, in school curricula to address the nutrition and lifestyle habits needed for healthy development; provided further, that the services shall meet standards and eligibility guidelines established by the department in consultation with the department of elementary and secondary education; provided further, that funds may be expended for the support of the commission on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, established in section 67 of chapter 3 of the General Laws, and may be used to address the recommendations of the commission for reduction of health disparities for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth; and provided further, that funds shall be expended for school nurses and school based health center programs........... $11,724,925
Senate budget area on State House web site
