Proposed bill damaging to rights

House Editorial

A Harrisonburg lawmaker’s attempt to eliminate the Gay-Straight Alliance from Harrisonburg High School is hopelessly misguided and potentially damaging to students’ rights.

Republican Del. Glenn Weatherholtz has introduced a bill into the General Assembly that aims to deny any groups or clubs that advocate support, assistance or justification for any sexual behavior access to public schools, or the right to distribute material within them.

Apparently Harrisonburg’s Alliance, which was formed last fall to support all sexual preferences, doesn’t even merit history’s "separate but equal" status. Weatherholtz thinks it just plain should not exist.

Weatherholtz’s bill is an ignorant attempt at sending this society back to the days when the term "diversity" meant men with different hair colors. It’s ridiculous to say that a group of teenagers, who have followed all the correct steps and rules in the club-approval process, cannot form because of its harmless subject. And, yes, it is harmless.

The ban on sexual preference clubs promotes and is motivated by intolerance — the exact thing that teenagers, or anyone, never should have to face. Weatherholtz is missing the issues that should really be addressed to today’s youth: teen pregnancy, peer pressure, family problems, drugs and discrimination. Weatherholtz is promoting discrimination more than he is addressing it as a problem.

This bill will exacerbate the wounds created by this discrimination by eliminating a support structure for students of different sexual preference. Some of those who favor Weatherholtz’s bill call the Alliance a "homosexual advocacy group" that promotes sexual behavior. Far from promoting homosexuality, the club aims to help a set of minority students develop a positive self-image.

Weatherholtz’s time would be better spent helping reduce teen pregnancy, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, curbing rampant drug use or just keeping kids from dropping out of school. These are greater threats to the community values he claims to be upholding than a few empowered homosexual teenagers.

Weatherholtz may even be sabotaging the health education system itself — a health class is useless if it doesn’t advocate, support, assist or justify sexual behavior — safe sexual behavior, but sexual behavior nonetheless.

If passed, this bill will completely sabotage students’ equal rights. This bill would create a dangerous precedent for limiting freedom of expression and speech in Virginia’s public schools as well as damaging the self-image of students who have waited too long to be accepted by the community. It’s time for those who follow Weatherholtz to come out of the closet and realize there are more important things to do than bash homosexuals.