Penn. Pro-Family Group Cautions Schools Against Partnership With GLSEN
by Allie Martin
January 9, 2007
(AgapePress) - - The American Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of PA) is calling a partnership between one of the state's public school districts and a well known pro-homosexual group a big mistake.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, is a national organization comprising homosexual, bisexual, and transgender individuals and their allies, whose stated goals include working to end discrimination and harassment against homosexuals. According to the AFA of PA, the pro-homosexual group has invited the Ambridge Area School District's Senior High School principal Alan Fritz to attend diversity workshops offered by GLSEN.
Diane Gramley, president of the AFA of PA, has sent a letter to Principal Fritz, informing him about what her group believes to be the true agenda of GLSEN. "We mentioned some books that GLSEN encourages students to use as resources -- books such as Rainbow Boy and In Your Face: Stories From the Lives of Queer Youth," she notes.
"These books talk about, in most cases, in explicit detail, sexual encounters," Gramley says, "usually between male teenagers and older males." She contends that any school that partners with GLSEN is in effect agreeing with that group's efforts to normalize homosexuality.
In the letter to Principal Fritz, the AFA of PA spokeswoman says her group tried to impress upon the school official the inadvisability of such an alliance. However, she says she has so far received no response from the school.
According to Gramley, many public school officials simply do not realize the danger of partnering with GLSEN or other groups like it whose primary goals, she insists, are to normalize homosexuality and to encourage students to experiment with same-sex partners. "That's what they want," she asserts. "They want the kids to believe that 'gay is okay,' and that if you feel that you are homosexual -- if you feel you're tugged in that direction -- [you should] go ahead and try it."
Gramley believes groups pushing the acceptance of homosexuality will eventually target the First Amendment rights of Christians who understand the Bible to prohibit sexual activity between people of the same sex. Therefore, she suggests, the homosexual agenda is a direct threat to the free speech and religious liberty of those who believe homosexual activity is sinful.
Allie Martin, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
