Mass. Group Demands Romney Roll Back Pro-Homosexual Program Funding
by Jim Brown
June 29, 2005
(AgapePress) - A pro-family group in Massachusetts is expressing outrage over the state legislature's decision to increase funding for homosexual programs in public schools by 70 percent. The conservative activist organization is calling on the state's governor to veto the increase.
Last week, the Massachusetts state legislature overwhelmingly passed two budget items that earmark $425,000 to the Governor's Commission for Gay and Lesbian Youth (GCGLY), a group that works with the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). But Brian Camenker, head of the pro-family group Article 8 Alliance, is calling on Governor Mitt Romney to nix the funding increase immediately.
Camenker says the GCGLY is made up of some of the most radical homosexual activists in the state. "They are the ones that work with GLSEN," he asserts, "to dole out money to these literally hundreds of Gay-Straight Alliance clubs in the Massachusetts schools."
The pro-family advocate points out that some of these homosexual-affirming clubs receive up to $5,000 in grants from the state, thus enabling the clubs to coordinate programs and assemblies, put on plays, distribute pro-homosexual literature ,and sponsor "Day of Silence" activities in the schools. "One of the reasons that Massachusetts has more Gay-Straight Alliance clubs than any other state in the country," he notes, "is that the government funds them."
Article 8 Alliance maintains that the GCGLY is the main conduit for promoting homosexuality in Massachusetts public schools, and its members are appointed by the governor. The group notes that last year the commission received $250,000 of taxpayer money, funneled through the Department of Public Health budget. And this year, thanks to the budget items approved last week, the GCGLY is poised to receive "not less than $350,000" for its expenses. Meanwhile, the state Department of Education, "in collaboration" with the Governor's Commission, has been allocated "not less than $75,000" for special programs geared toward accommodating and supporting homosexual students.
Pro-family forces in Massachusetts are upset over these budget items and are looking to Romney to do something about it. "So we are calling on the governor, who has until July 4, to veto this money -- and he can do it," Camenker says. The question, he adds, is whether Romney will "have the guts" to stand up to homosexual activists in his state.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
