News Release

Americans For Truth
www.americansfortruth.org
April 25, 2008

Contact: Peter LaBarbera: 630-717-7631; americansfortruth@comcast.net

NAPERVILLE, Illinois –– Americans For Truth (AFTAH) President Peter LaBarbera today called on schools, the media and opinion-makers to “break the silence” regarding the serious health risks of homosexual behavior, and said Americans deserve an official government investigation into the matter.

“Today, thousands of schools across the country are encouraging the homosexual activist ‘Day of Silence,’ and doing it in the name of protecting students’ safety,” LaBarbera said. “While schools can and must protect every child from harassment and abuse, it is contradictory to promote homosexuality in the name of ‘safety’ because the evidence is so overwhelming that same-sex behavior is a serious health risk –– especially for males.”

AFTAH has joined a coalition of pro-family organizations encouraging parents to pull their children out of schools that endorse the “Day of Silence” or allow students not to participate in classroom activities. [For a list of DOS-participating schools, see www.missionamerica.com.]

“How many government-funded studies have there been on the dangers of smoking?” LaBarbera said. “Yet homosexual men similarly are dying prematurely due to risky, unnatural same-sex practices –– but taxpayer-funded public schools are promoting this lifestyle to students through propagandistic exercises like the ‘Day of Silence.’”

Larry Cirignano (with yellow tie in bottom photo) with attorney Mike Gilleran, after their triumph over ACLU activist Sarah Loy’s harassing lawsuit. At top, ACLU Board Member Loy (in middle, holding sign) describes her phony “assault” to police after she disrupted Cirignano’s rally and then lied about him pushing her down. If you look closely, you can see Loy’s nose growing in the photo — not really. You can congratulate Larry for his court victory over the ACLU at larryvote@aol.com.

“That’s what hate does!”
— Massachusetts activist Sarah Loy’s chant after she had fallen to the ground at a pro-family meeting she was disrupting; a judge and jury found no basis for her claim that Larry Cirignano had pushed her in an attack on her “civil rights.”  

By Peter LaBarbera

Every freedom-loving American owes a debt of gratitude to Larry Cirignano and all those like him who refuse to give up or “settle” in the face of the radical Left’s lies, dirty tricks and intimidation tactics. Cirignano is a Catholic family advocate who was “set up” by an ACLU activist at a pro-marriage rally in Worcester, Massachusetts, turning the pro-family event into a 10-month personal nightmare. (See below, or go HERE to Mass Resistance’s excellent background story on the case; their final write-up is HERE.)

You simply won’t believe this case: alleged “victim” and pro-homosexual protester Sarah Loy invaded a pro-marriage rally on December 16, 2006; then, as Cirignano was leading her away from the rally that she was trying to disrupt, she fell to the ground and started screaming about “hate” as if he had attacked her! (You can view a sample of the leftist tripe on this website, which identifies Loy as a Board Member of ACLU.)

Loy claimed that Cirignano shoved her to the ground but the jury found that she tripped and fell. You can watch some amateur video footage of the rally HERE. (The video, which is of low quality, might be called, Anatomy of a Smear; a longer version of it, along with still photographs, was used in court to show that some of the government’s key “witnesses” to the alleged assault — including Richard Nangle of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, who reported it as fact — were not in the crowd but standing dozens of feet away.) 

The whole case is further proof — as if we needed it — that nobody lies like the pro-homosexual, pro-abortion Left, whose members are so consumed with hatred for those defending life and the natural family that they will stoop to evil tactics like this in their ends-justify-the-means crusade to destroy them.

Loy’s story was a complete fabrication, but Worcester’s prosecutors — in bed with the ACLU, the liberal media, and the state’s powerful “gay” lobby — took it seriously, wasting tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars and smearing a good man’s reputation in the process. 

 NOTE:  David Parker (at left) will be a keynote speaker at Americans For Truth’s upcoming dinner banquet in Naperville, Illinois (outside Chicago) on Saturday, Oct. 6. His is one of the most important cases in the country, as parents’ rights to guide their children’s moral upbringing is on the line. Click HERE for more information on the AFTAH banquet. 

By Brian Camenker, MassResistance.org

In a time of universal deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
– George Orwell

MassResistance.org reports: 

National homosexual groups targeting children file in US First Circuit Court to stop appeal in David Parker lawsuit.

GLSEN and PFLAG, as well as GLAD all file appearance in case. Reveals nationwide importance of Parker’s court action. 

As David Parker’s lawyers prepare to appeal the ruling against his federal civil rights lawsuit against the Lexington School system, three major homosexual activist groups have officially filed their appearance in the case, and will be submitting amicus briefs as part of their effort to stop his appeal.

Read the official appearance document here:
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/parker_lawsuit/GLSEN_appearance_doc.pdf

David Parker, his wife, and another couple, the Wirthlins, are suing the Lexington, MA school system over the teaching and normalization of homosexual behavior in the elementary schools, purposefully without parents’ knowledge or consent, or ability to opt out.

Earlier this year, Federal District Court Judge Mark Wolf issued an unbelievable ruling against the Parkers which, among other things, gives schools in Massachusetts the right to teach homosexuality at will, without parents’ input, consent, or even knowledge. The Parkers are appealing.

Read Wolf’s disturbing ruling here:
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/parker_lawsuit/hearing_020707/hearing_dismissed.html

More on the Parkers’ case and events leading up to it.
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/parker/index.html

“WITHOUT GSA [‘Gay Straight Alliance’ school clubs] ACCESS, STUDENTS ARE FORCED TO SIMPLY KILL CLASSMATES WHO TAUNT & BULLY — SHOOTING, STABBING AND POISONING ARE THE COMMON FORMS OF RETRIBUTION. FAR TOO MANY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS LIKE BULLYING CHILDREN TO THE POINT WHERE RETRIBUTION AGAINST CLASSMATES AND FACULTY IS ONLY OPTION TO REDRESS RELENTLESS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN MANY REGIONS.”

The above is copied verbatim off the homosexual website www.gaystraightalliance.org, July 27, 2007. This post is at the bottom of the website, which is one of several produced by www.gaylibrary.com.

By Peter LaBarbera 

We have only skimmed the surface as to how destructive liberal (distorted) notions of “tolerance” and “diversity” will be to children. Below is the beginning of a Southern Poverty Law Center online article advocating homosexual (“gay/straight alliance”) clubs for middle schools. All students can and must be protected regardless of their behavioral traits/”orientations” — and bullies must be dealt with severely — but encouraging “proud” homosexual clubs for children in grades 6-9 who are still far from adulthood is breathtakingly reckless.

These GSA clubs certainly promote just ONE SIDE of the homosexual issue, and engage in propagandistic activities to the rest of the school. Studies show that kids’ “sexual identities” are fluid, so why on earth would we want to encourage any boy or girl in the idea that they are “gay” before they are fully developed? (Gee, I wonder if I even thought about sex, much less had a sexual ‘identity,’ when I was in 6th grade!)

At this point I can already hear some “gay” activists saying how “they knew they were different” at some ridiculously young age, say five years old — which always makes me suspicious that they weren’t victimized in some way as a child. Because normal people simply did not contemplate their sexual nature as young children. But I digress: the point is: liberals are taking public schools into very dangerous territory by ENCOURAGING even pre-adolescent children to self-identify as GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender) — particularly since the one thing we can be sure about is that they will NOT effectively communicate the massive health risks of homosexual behavior to these impressionable kids. This is educational malpractice at its worst and it must be stopped.

The following is the beginning of the Spring 2007 “Teaching Tolerance” article advocating homosexual clubs for middle schoolers: 

‘THIS is Why We Need a GSA’
Gay-straight alliances are taking hold in middle schools, where homophobia and anti-gay harassment may be the most rampant. 
 

by Carrie Kilman 
 
For several weeks last spring, fliers announcing Sennett Middle School’s Gay-Straight Alliance were torn from the hallways, revealing a hidden message to the culprits about why the club was important in the first place. Safe spaces can be hard to come by when you’re a middle school student, especially if you’re lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. For the past 10 years, GSAs have helped high school students fight anti-gay harassment. Experts say middle school is where GSAs might be needed most — and their numbers are starting to grow.

 

To read the entire “Teaching Tolerance” article, click HERE

By Chuck Colson, Breakpoint, Prison Fellowship 

The Gay Agenda and Schoolkids

Once upon a time there was a handsome young prince. When he grew up, he began searching for a wife, but could not find a princess he wanted to marry. One day, he met another prince—and fell in love. The two men married and lived happily ever after.

They must have been the only ones who did. When the fairy tale—which ended with the newly married “couple” kissing—was read to Massachusetts first graders, Christian parents were outraged.

Two sets of parents sued the Lexington school district, claiming that district officials violated both state law and their civil rights by allowing a teacher to read to their 6-year-olds a book that normalizes homosexual love and marriage.

Not surprisingly—this is Massachusetts, after all—federal judge Mark Wolf dismissed the lawsuit. Public schools, he wrote, are “entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy.”

I guess it is not possible to become a productive citizen without embracing the teachings of radical gays.

Incredibly, the judge said parents did not even have a right to pull their kids from classes that discuss and depict homosexual behavior. Allowing kids to leave, the judge said, “could send the message that gays, lesbians, and the children of same-sex parents are inferior and, therefore, have a damaging effect on those students.”

This decision is so ghastly it is hard to know where to begin. Since when did parents not have the right to control what their children are exposed to when it comes to matters of sexuality? And what about the damaging effect on kids who are taught ideas that conflict with their parents’ teachings?

If the school district is really committed to teaching about all kinds of families, then why not give children a story about a prince who longs for another prince, realizes his longings are disordered, undergoes reparative therapy, and lives happily ever after—with a princess?

The real goal, of course, is normalizing homosexuality. The judge tipped his hand on this when he said that children should be taught to “respect” differences in sexual orientation.

The two families are appealing Judge Wolf’s decision, and we ought to be praying for their ultimate success. But we must also realize what is really going on here.

When it comes to sin, humans have been playing the denial game ever since the Fall. In Romans, Paul says that even pagans know God’s moral law because it is “written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness.”

That’s why it is not enough for homosexuals to be tolerated; in order to live with their own consciences, homosexuals demand unanimous assent that homosexuality is a moral good. And that means silencing those who believe that homosexuality is a disorder, and that homosexual behavior is a moral sin.

You and I must fight back when homosexuals attempt to promote gay “marriage” in public schools. But we must also reach out with compassion to those ensnared by disordered sexual desires.

The Bible teaches that sin—and a guilty conscience—can be erased only by the grace of God through faith in Christ.

More links to resources on this story can be found on Breakpoint’s website.

How can students in the United States of America be allowed to promote the acceptance of homosexuality (e.g., the national Day of Silence) but not criticize it? Remember: many people of faith (and others) do not agree with the modern, trendy notion of “gayness” as personhood — i.e., that it is a part of a person’s intrinsic identity. Instead, they view homosexuality as changeable, unnatural and/or sinful behavior, as evidenced by the many men and women who once considered themselves “gay” but have since left their homosexual lifestyle behind.

Judge Hart’s decision creates classic viewpoint discrimination in a public, taxpayer-funded forum (schools) and we hope ultimately that it will be struck down in appeal. I trust that even some of our “gay” critics will see how this ruling is incompatible with the First Amendment.– Peter LaBarbera

Associate Press reports: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C266716%2C00.html

Judge Upholds Illinois School’s Ban on ‘Be Happy, Not Gay’ Shirt

Wednesday, April 18, 2007
CHICAGO — Two Neuqua Valley High School [in Naperville, Illinois] students won’t be able to wear T-shirts saying “Be Happy, Not Gay,” to school on Thursday following a judge’s ruling.

U.S. District Judge William T. Hart ruled in favor of the high school Tuesday in a preliminary injunction that would have allowed the students to wear the shirts the day after Wednesday’s National Day of Silence.

On the Day of Silence, students can refrain from speaking as an effort to protest discrimination against homosexuals.

The Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund is representing Heidi Zamecnik of Naperville and Alexander Nuxoll of Bolingbrook in a lawsuit that claims Zamecnik’s rights were violated last year when she wasn’t allowed to wear the shirt in school.

The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian litigation group, will appeal the judge’s decision on the preliminary injunction to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, attorney Jonathan Scruggs said. The lawsuit is still pending.

Scruggs said the school is violating the students’ rights to free speech by banning the shirt.

“The school cannot silence speech merely because some people find it offensive,” Scruggs said. “We believe that’s the core of what the First Amendment protects.”

Jack Canna, an attorney for Indian Prairie Unit School District 204, said banning the shirt is part of a policy “to preserve the notion that kids shouldn’t make negative or derogatory comments about other students.”

Messages left by The Associated Press with the Indian Prairie Unit School District 204 and Neuqua Valley High School were not immediately returned Wednesday morning.

By Peter LaBarbera

Iliinois homosexual activist Rick Garcia equates advocates for concerned parents with Nazis 

Americans For Truth has joined the pro-family coalition NotOurKids.com — calling on parents across the nation to pull their kids from school if the school endorses or encourages the pro-homosexual “Day of Silence.” The annual event is the brainchild of the radical group GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network), of Massachusetts “Fistgate” notoriety.

Day of Silence is a propaganda exercise for schools designed to engender sympathy toward GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) lifestyles. Many schools now officially back this disruptive, pro-homosexual event — so we’re calling on parents to pull their children out of school that day (Wed., April 18 this year). How did we get to the point in our society where schools would be used to promote acceptance of immoral homosexual behaviors and gender confusion (transgenderism)?

Many schools — especially in metropolitan areas — have become PC propaganda centers, and it’s way past time for parents to take a stand. Promoting unhealthy, changeable and immoral behaviors like homosexuality and bisexuality — especially to vulnerable teens (even middle schoolers!) –– lacks compassion.  Click HERE for a list of schools likely to be (or potentially) participating in the “Day of Silence.” 

Beware: it can be tricky to nail down a school’s policy on DOS because administrators will often claim that they are NOT endorsing the pro-homosexual event, yet then they will still allow students to remain silent that day — an obvious acquiescence to politicized behavior that disrupts the educational process.

For an idea of how GLSEN-friendly teachers use the classroom to promote the “victimhood” of homosexuals as a minority, click HERE to view a GLSEN document, “Lesson Plan: The Silencing Effect of Anti-LGBT Name-Calling.”  From the “Lesson Plan”:

“Instruct students to freewrite about one or both of the following topics: 1) How it feels to silence oneself and be silenced by others; and/or 2) What the Day of Silence means to them, and why they do or don’t think the Day of Silence is necessary in their school.”

Folks, this isn’t education, it’s ‘Gay’ Advocacy Training 101!

Concerned Parents = Nazis?

Rick Garcia, Illinois’ top homosexual activist, responded to the “Not Our Kids” press release below by saying that our pro-family coalition is advocating “animosity and bigotry” rather than a healthy school environment. Garcia told the Naperville [Illinois] Sun: “These people sound like they’d be perfect for Nazi Germany…Let’s burn books so our perfect children are not tainted. Not our kids, well they are your kids. If they think they’re going to keep their kids from gay people or a discussion of homosexuality anywhere, they are delusional.”  (Click HERE for ex-“gay” and Not Our Kids spokesman Steve Bennett’s response to Garcia’s nonsense.)

Nazi Germany? Burning books? Delusional parents?  So much for the homosexual advocates’ “no name calling” campaign. Can you see why your children are more likely to be indoctrinated than educated when the “gay” agenda elbows its way into their school? 

Americans For Truth and NotOurKids.com will have more information on the Parent/Student Pullout of the Day of Silence (Wed., April 18th) and practical information on what you as a parent or taxpayer can do in future e-mails.