Readers, what were you taught in sex ed classes in school? As a bill regarding comprehensive sex ed winds through the state legislature, the Indys interested in what you learned (true or false) in sex ed class. Post a comment below.
As Fiona Morgan reported on the Indys Triangulator blog last month, right-wingers in the state legislature are grandstanding over House Bill 88, which would offer comprehensive sex education to students across the state. Under the bill, every school district would offer parents a choice between the old abstinence-only track and a track that emphasizes abstinence but also teaches medical facts about preventing pregnancy and STDs.
This has conservatives all hot and bothered, including Rep. Ruth Samuelson (R-Mecklenberg), who told WUNC reporter Laura Leslie that she objects to language in the bill that specifies a comprehensive program would teach respect for marriage and committed relationships, because she believes its too broadly worded:
This is gonna require that we teach that gay couples are the same as heterosexual married couples, or that polygamy is the same because its equally as not legal in North Carolina, but an alternative committed relationship, Samuelson said.
However, there is nothing in the bill about same-sex relationships. In fact, its hetero-centric to a fault, and includes language that the curriculum teaches that a mutually faithful monogamous heterosexual relationship in the context of marriage is the best lifelong means of avoiding sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
The bill would also teach kids how to identify and report sexual assault, as well as how to avoid alcohol and drug abuse.
