Americans for Truth about Homosexuality

MSNBC aired a debate on Sat, Mar 10, 2007, between Matt Foreman of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (Task Force) and Peter Sprigg, Vice President for Policy at Family Research Council (FRC) — and the topic was Deerfield High School’s “Freshman Advisory” which includes presentations by students who identify as homosexual, bisexual, or “transgendered.”

Watch the MSNBC debate HERE.

Matt Foreman suggested the “gay” panel was simply part of broader program that includes blacks, Latinos, etc. (We’re not sure how he knows that since District 113 officials have refused to release the curriculum to local parents.) He claimed that “gay” students are disproportionately the victim of bullying & violence.

Peter Sprigg said that FRC would prefer that the school do away with whole program, in part because they’re presenting only one side (which is viewpoint discrimination) which may encourage kids to prematurely label themselves as homosexual or bisexual. He pointed to studies that demonstrate younger kids are often unsure/confused but later heterosexual.

Matt Foreman asserted that only a small minority of parents object and claimed that opponents are spreading “lies & myths” about the panel — “this is part of gay agenda,” homosexual students are recruiting, etc.

Peter Sprigg suggested that anyone interested in learning about the homosexual agenda might go to www.frc.org.

Matt Foreman said to Peter Sprigg: “Your propaganda creates bullying and violence against gays — Why are you so obsessed with gays?”

Peter Sprigg said, and we agree: “We believe all kids should be protected against bullying & violence.” He went on to say that most bullying occurs because of appearance & body size and asked “Are we going to have a panel of obese students telling kids it’s good to be overweight?”

From Illinois Family Institute, where Lora Sue Hauser serves as School Issues Advisor:

Click HERE to read the confidentiality agreement
that Deerfield High School freshmen were asked to sign prior to being confronted with
a panel of students who identify as homosexual, bisexual, and “transgendered.”

WARNING: The pdf includes…

• The confidentiality agreement (2 pages), plus
• “Terminology Game Cards” used in Deerfield’s Freshman Advisory,”
• Excerpts from Alex Sanchez’s book Rainbow Boys which is replete with vulgar language and sexual content (Alex Sanchez was invited to speak at DHS in 2005),
• A list of “gay” bars linked (via the GLBT National Health Center) on Alex Sanchez’s website (which he promoted to students), and
• Objectionable excerpts from The Heidi Chronicles, which was perfomed for freshmen — without parental notice or consent — at DHS in 2001.

From Concerned Women for America, broadcast Mar 14, 2007:

Forced Confidentiality for ‘Gay’ Indoctrination

Some teachers at Deerfield High School in Deerfield, Illinois are forcing 14-year-old freshmen to sign a confidentiality agreement saying they will not tell anyone, not even their parents, what they are taught in a pro-homosexual sensitivity training seminar. Martha Kleder spoke with Lora Sue Hauser, head of North Shore Student Advocacy, a group of concerned area parents, and Matt Barber, CWA’s Policy Director for Cultural Issues.

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From our good friends at MassResistance, published Mar 14, 2007:

Suppose your son came home from school one day with a pamphlet — given to him by the school. Suppose it told your son:

Men who call themselves gay are sexually attracted to and fall in love with other men. Their sexual feelings toward men are normal and natural for them. These feelings emerge when they are boys and the feelings continue into adulthood. . . “I don’t remember exactly when I first knew I was gay, but I do remember that the thought of sex with men always excited me.”

“I had to reject a lot of negative heterosexual and religious programming that made me feel lousy about myself as a gay person. I began to like myself by meeting other gay people and going to a gay support group.”

“But it is crucial to be honest with yourself. Just as self-denial costs you, coming out pays off. Most kids who accept their sexuality say they feel calmer, happier and more confident.”

This was given out to students at Newton North High School in December, during an all-day “Transgender Bisexual Gay Lesbian Awareness Day” event (which the school called “ToBeGLAD Day”). By order of the principal, parents were not allowed to attend. The pamphlet also lists places kids can go to meet homosexuals.

How would something like this affect a kid who might be going through a confused and vulnerable time in his life? Well . . . the school isn’t interested in what YOU think. And since the recent ruling in the David Parker lawsuit, it will only get worse!

Here’s the pamphlet: “I think I might be gay – now what do I do?“

And here’s another one that was given out that day. This slick booklet is from [National Youth Advocacy Coalition, NYAC,] a national homosexual group targeting kids.

And there’s more to show you – this was just the beginning. Check the MassResistance website tomorrow (Thursday).

Are you going to stand for this? Right now, legislators are balking at supporting the Parents Rights Bill!! Are you going to let a bunch of cowardly Massachusetts legislators just look the other way, claiming they have “more important” things to attend to, and they “aren’t ready” to co-sponsor the new Parents Rights Bill (see below)? Well, if you feel strongly about this, don’t let them off the hook.

MAKE THEM support this. For example, email the above “pamphlet” to them, then call them up and make them answer for it! See our Take Action page and find a link to your representative’s webpage and contact info (including e-mail) by scrolling to the grid (item #5).

Excerpted from School Tells Kids to Hide Pro-”Gay” Propaganda from Parents, published Mar 13, 2007, by Concerned Women for America:

In a shocking and brazen act of governmental abuse of parental rights, Deerfield High School (DHS) in Deerfield, Illinois, has required fourteen-year-old freshmen to attend a “Straight Gay Alliance Network” (GSA) panel discussion led by “gay” and “lesbian” upperclassmen during a “freshman advisory” class which secretively featured inappropriate discussions of a sexual nature in promotion of high-risk homosexual behaviors.

Not only has DHS required that its young and impressionable freshmen be exposed to radical homosexual propaganda, the school has further required that students sign a “confidentiality agreement” promising not to tell anyone — including their own parents — about the discussion.

Matt Barber, Policy Director for Cultural Issues with Concerned Women for America (CWA), said of the scandal:

“This is unbelievable. It’s not enough that students at Deerfield High are being exposed to improper and offensive material relative to unhealthy and high-risk homosexual behaviors, but they’ve essentially been told by teachers to lie to their parents about it.

“This goes to the heart of the homosexual agenda. The professional propagandists in the ‘gay-rights’ lobby know the method all too well. If you can maintain control of undeveloped and impressionable youth and spoon-feed them misinformation, lies and half-truths about dangerous, disordered and extremely risky behaviors, then you can control the future and ensure that those behaviors are not only fully accepted, but celebrated. That’s what homosexual activists from GSA are attempting to do, and that’s what DHS is clearly up to as well.”

Dr. George Fornero, superintendent of DHS’ Dist. 113, told CWA that the district “made a mistake” by requiring children to sign the confidentiality agreement and that it would be entirely aboveboard and honest with parents in the future. However, as Barber noted, the damage has already been done: “Until DHS and other government schools across the country are made to stop promoting the homosexual agenda, kids will continue to be exposed to — and encouraged to participate in — a lifestyle that places them at high risk for life-threatening disease, depression and spiritual despair,” said Barber.

Remarkably, even after the school district’s surreptitious actions were exposed, parents were nonetheless told that they were not welcome to sit in on the “freshman advisory” and were not permitted to have access to materials used in compiling its activist curriculum.

Lora Sue Hauser, the head of North Shore Student Advocacy, has reported that students at Deerfield High School were asked to sign a ‘confidentiality agreement’ before listening to a panel discussion by homosexual students in a mandatory class called “Freshman Advisory.” If you want to learn more about the situation in Deerfield, IL — and what’s going on at schools across the nation:

The following letter is one couple’s effort to motivate their church leaders to become aware of the pro-GLBT indoctrination our kids are facing in the public schools:

Although you will read about this in Sunday’s bulletin, we thought we should personally ask you to consider coming to College Church in Wheaton this Sunday night. You will learn about the “gay” indoctrination that children you know and care about in this church — and this would include your own children — are encountering on a regular basis at area schools…

My 16-year-old daughter, who goes to [name deleted] ministries with your kids, has told me that there are a number of kids at our church — right now — who don’t know if they are “gay” or not because of the homosexual speakers who have come into the local schools challenging them with such questions as, “How do you know you’re heterosexual?”

My daughter has said to me,

“Mom, our church needs to be talking about this. There are a lot of confused kids at our church over this issue. It is because of the ‘gay’ speakers who come into their schools and talk about homosexuality. Nothing is being taught about it at church, and they really need to be doing something.”

…You, as church leaders, will not minister as effectively as you could if you understood what is creating this new area of counseling… When people walk through your office door, you’re encountering the fruit of this propaganda. By coming to this meeting, you will gather information to instruct you about the root of the problem. With knowledge comes understanding, and with understanding comes help. From a professional standpoint, you need to come Sunday night.

Read the rest of this article »

Excerpted from School Accused of Promoting Homosexuality, by Lisa Black, published Mar 7, 2007, by Chicago Tribune:

Some parents have accused Deerfield High School of promoting a homosexual agenda by allowing gay students to speak before freshman classes about their personal experiences, cite research and invite questions.

Taking place in classrooms this week, the panel sessions are scheduled during a class called freshman advisory, which seeks to help students adjust to high school. The class is mandatory, but parents can choose to remove their child on days the lessons concern them, school officials said.

But Deerfield resident and parent Lora Sue Hauser, who heads a group called North Shore Student Advocacy, wants to see the panel discontinued, saying it delves into complex issues of sexuality that are better addressed by parents and trained counselors. She said the panel is one of several ways that Deerfield High and other schools treat homosexuality as morally acceptable without presenting the viewpoints of those who disagree.

“The school makes heterosexuality and homosexuality equivalent, and our country is deeply divided on that,” said Hauser, who said dozens of parents belong to the advocacy group but fear they will be labeled as haters or religious fanatics if they speak out.

“You can’t dump that on a 14-year-old,” Hauser said. “These are really difficult waters to navigate.”

Continue reading at Chicago Tribune…