Obscanity: You'll know it when you see it

Thousands March Against Prop 8 in Silver Lake.

Okay, so I’ve been seeing this argument about gay marriage being “taught in schools,” and I simply cannot let it stand anymore.

Your children were never going to learn about gay sex. They were never going to learn that they could marry a princess if they couldn’t find their prince. They were never going to be taught to be gay. They were only going to learn that some of their classmates had two mommies or two daddies. And guess what? They still are going to learn that some of their classmates have two mommies or two daddies. Just because their parents aren’t married, it doesn’t mean they stop being parents.

As a Jew, I would be horrified to be told I needed to tuck my Jewish star into my shirt because some Christian parents were worried that their children might become confused if they learned that some people don’t believe in Jesus as the messiah. It is not the responsibility of the school to make sure your children grows up with your values. That is YOUR responsibility.

Similarly, as a gay person, I will not tell my future children that they have to hide their family just because some other children might be confused. We have the right to exist. You cannot take this away from us by taking away our right to get married – all you do is hurt our children by refusing them the same protections that your children have.

If you don’t want your children to know that some people are different from you, don’t send them to a public school where they will encounter people with differences. Don’t let them see disabled people, because they might ask questions. Don’t let them see people of different races and ethnicities, because they might ask questions. Keep them away from children who write with their left hands, because they might ask questions. Don’t let them associate with people of different religions, or people whose parents are divorced and have remarried, because they might ask questions. Let them think that all people are the same as you. It is your right as a parent to exercise your choice to keep your children out of public schools if you disagree with their decision to serve all children and not just yours. But do not challenge my right to EXIST.

As for the “sexuality” issue – you cannot reduce me to a sexuality. Do your children know that their parents love each other? Of course they do. Does that have to be prefaced with an explanation of how sexual intercourse works? Of course not. So why do you seem to think that children cannot understand the love between me and my wife without turning it into a sex lesson? It is not about sex. YOU were the ones who said it was about sex. Children understand LOVE. They understand that people love each other. That’s all anybody can ask for.

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