---

Christian and Muslim Parents Facing Possible Criminal Charges for Opting Out of LGBT History Month

By Hilary White

LONDON, March 10, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - UK parents could face criminal charges for having removed their children from programs held at George Tomlinson Primary School promoting the homosexual lifestyle. Waltham Forest council has announced it will prosecute parents of about 30 children who did not attend a week's worth of lessons coinciding with "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) History Month."

A spokesman for the council said, "At George Tomlinson, parents were invited to meet with teachers and governors several weeks ago to discuss what work would be taking place throughout the national LGBT History Month, and how this work would be delivered. Regrettably, some parents chose to remove their children from school.

"The council does not condone any unauthorised absence from school and action has been taken."

But parents who objected said they were told by the school there were no other options but to remove their children from classes if they objected to the content of the program.

Pervez Latif, a 41-year-old accountant whose children, Saleh, 10, and Abdurrahin, 9, attend the school, told the Daily Mail, "I wrote a letter to the chairman of the governors explaining that I would be taking my children out of school and he wrote back saying that there was no other option."

He said that parents had not been properly informed about the content of the program. "There was just a newsletter mentioning the week and that certain themes would be taught."

Two homosexual-themed books were read in primary classes: "King and King," about a prince who falls in love with another prince, and "Tango Makes Three," about two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who fall in love and adopt a baby penguin at a New York zoo.

Mr. Latif spoke of the disruption to his family: "My wife is very concerned she might be prosecuted ... I found it difficult to explain topics such as homosexual relationships at such a young age."

"I didn't want my children to be learning about this," he said. "If I am faced with court action, then I will just explain that these are my views.
 
Although the Waltham Forest council has not yet informed parents how they are to be punished, the council website says that parents of truant children can be asked to sign a contract, fined on the spot or taken to court. Councils have the power to jail parents for truancy.

Sarah Saeed, 40, also took her eight-year-old daughter out of school during the week and also says she informed the school of her plans. She is quoted as saying, "It is not an appropriate age for the children to be learning such matters." Saeed said her daughter has a "100 percent attendance record otherwise."

"This is the only time and this is the only choice I had."

Richard Littlejohn, writing in the Daily Mail, said that parents have the legal right to remove their children from lessons on religion and sex. "That's why this is being smuggled in under the radar in the guise of 'history'.

"What has any of this got to do with 'history'? ... And why a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender month, anyway? Why not a Foot Fetishists, Spankers, Sadists and Masochists History Month?" He noted that the Waltham Forest council is punishing the parents for standing in the way of "tolerance" training in schools.

"So why not tolerate parents who, for sincerely-held reasons, consider their children too young to be taught about gay relationships? That's because when it comes to so-called tolerance, the new, intolerant state religion of 'diversity' trumps the old religions any day of the week."

"This isn't education, it's cultural fascism," Littlejohn concluded.

In the United Kingdom, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month was established in 2005 by Sue Sanders, a lesbian, feminist and prominent figure in the homosexualist political lobby. Sanders helped to found "School's Out," the primary outlet for the homosexualist movement's work in education.

The initiative received government backing and substantial funding from the Department for Education and Skills and Equalities under deputy minister Jacqui Smith. In its second year the pre-launch event was held in the Metropolitan Police's Empress State Building. In 2007, the event took place in the hall at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

The events are held in schools in February to coincide with a slower month in the schools calendar. Long standing sponsors and endorsers include the Metropolitan Police Service, the Metropolitan Police Authority, Amnesty International and the Crown Prosecution Service and the Communist Party of Britain.
 
Richard Littlejohn called the government support of LGBT History Month part of "Labour's deranged obsession with social engineering over genuine education."

 Back to Top

---

MORE NEWS: LifeSiteNews.com Home Page  Last 10 Days   Archives   Special Reports

Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.