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UK Minister Says "Homophobic Abuse" Same as "Racist Abuse"

By Peter J. Smith

LONDON, July 10, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - "Gay", "queer", and any other words or behaviours offensive to homosexuals must be stamped out among schoolchildren in the United Kingdom says the new Children's Minister.

Children's Minister Kevin Brennan told the homosexual advocacy group Stonewall that the government will require teachers to treat "homophobic abuse" just the same as "racist abuse." Brennan promised new regulations this autumn that would require teachers to act on name-calling such as "gay" and "queer" or be guilty of colluding in "homophobia," even when the words are being used as synonyms for "lame" or "bad."

"This is too often seen as harmless banter instead of the offensive insult that it really represents. To ignore this problem is to collude in it. The blind eye to casual name-calling, looking the other way because it is the easy option, is simply intolerable," Brennan said. "We need to create a culture where homophobic bullying is as unthinkable as racist bullying."

Brennan continued by saying schools "are the right place to start" to reshape British culture to oppose homophobia.

Brennan made the comments in reference to research from the Schools Health Education Unit (SHEU), which indicated that half of UK teachers do not respond to "homophobic" language when they hear it and that two thirds or 150,000 of "gay and lesbian" secondary school children are victims of homophobic bullying; according to the report the number rises to three quarters in religious schools.

SHEU's "findings" have given Brennan his pretext to initiate a broader program of immersing British schoolchildren in more pro-homosexual propaganda.  According to the Times, Brennan stated the government will redevelop school curricula to "reflect our inclusive vision of society" in order to educate children about "the importance of equality and diversity in ways that are appropriate to their age."

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