The Gays

Martin Cothran of The Family Foundation of Kentucky sent out an urgent press release last week, warning families that the Kentucky Department of Education has adopted a new diabolical plan to recruit your children into the homosexual lifestyle.

Here it is:

LEXINGTON, KY—A family advocacy group today criticized the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) for including gay rights language in a new document designed to guide local school curricula. “The last thing we need in our schools is a shift in focus away from academics toward special interest politics,” said Martin Cothran, senior policy analyst for The Family Foundation, who criticized the language which was included in an April 11 draft of the state’s new Model Curriculum Framework. “We need less politics in schools and more academics,” Cothran said.

This is the first time “sexual orientation” language has been included in a state document governing elementary and secondary education according to Cothran. “What we don’t need in order to academically improve our schools is a larger dose of political correctness.”

Well that just sounds terrifying. The KDE is literally “shift(ing) focus away from academics” and into “special interest politics” and “political correctness”.

But shockingly, when you look at the actually document that he’s referring to, the obsessive fear and gay-panic of Cothran and the Family Foundation becomes apparent.

Here is the link to the document (PDF). As you can see, it is 69 pages long. The part that they take issue with? Two words in one sentence. Here it is, from page 15 of this document that simply provides suggestions for teachers that may or may not be followed, but is there for them if they need it:

The chart below is neither exhaustive nor exclusive and is grounded in the underlying beliefs stated in the Learning Goals and Capacities for Kentucky’s young people as outlined in legislation. The headings for each column are the student outcomes identified by the 21st Century Partnership as necessary for success in life and career. Considering these outcomes together with the four powerful forces (knowledge work, thinking tools, digital lifestyles, learning research) can serve as a starting point for expanding the use and further development of the Learning Goals and Capacities to reflect a 21st century context. As a result, educators, families and communities who find themselves in increasingly complex and unfamiliar situations will be better equipped to prepare the next generation of learners.

Life and Career Dispositions

Excellence – achieving at high levels and persevering regardless of circumstances

Diversity – promoting an appreciation for one’s own cultural/historical background and respecting the history, language, and tradition of other cultures

Equity – exhibiting qualities of human worth and justice (i.e., ethnicity, sexual orientation, geography, religion, gender, and socioeconomic status)

Ethical behavior – willingness to think about, articulate, and support beliefs, judgments, and behavior

Qualities of character – exhibiting altruism, citizenship, courtesy, hard work, responsibility

Relating to others – interacting effectively with a diverse range of people in a variety of contexts

Yes, two terrifying words (sexual orientation!) in a 69-page draft document that merely seeks to provide assistance and resources to educators as they develop their own curricula, giving them suggestions and guidelines without mandate anything.

From the document:

The Kentucky Model Curriculum Framework serves as a facilitation guide to assist an instructional supervisor, principal and/or teacher leader in providing a rationale for the need to revisit curriculum planning, offering some background information and exercises to generate “future oriented” thinking, and suggesting a process for designing and reviewing the local curriculum.

Remember, Cothran and the Family Foundation have been fighting many invisible gay boogeymen over the past decade in Kentucky, with their most recent target being Jim Gray. Gray, you see, took money from real live GAY PEOPLE, which they felt necessitated warning the the people of Lexington before the election, as well as prompting their supporters to call into radio stations and spew homophobic bile about him.

And now they are keeping our children safe from 69-page drafts of suggestions to teachers that dare to use the words “sexual orientation” once.

Martin Cothran… what a sad, sad man. But you keep looking for those gay boogeymen under the bed, Marty.