TORONTO, Aug 16, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) voted overwhelmingly to support a motion to lobby school boards to fund gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender books for school children. The Canadian Press reports that the motion was opposed only by about 20 of the more the 500 delegates at the annual meeting of the ETFO, which erupted in cheers after the result was announced.
Liona Laird, a Grade 6 teacher from eastern Ontario who calls herself a “lesbian mom,” tabled the motion and Cori Petrie, a Grade 8 teacher with three children seconded the motion. Rhonda Jesse, the sole delegate to speak against the motion, said “It is my opinion that it is not the teacher’s role to introduce issues such as this into children’s lives.”
Beyond the violation of parents’ rights by the promotion of behaviours parents may object to, the promotion of homosexuality in schools could be seen as dangerous. Two extensive studies appearing in the October 1999 American Medical Association’s Archives of General Psychiatry show a link between homosexuality and suicide as well as a relationship between homosexuality and abnormal mental problems.
A study using 103 pairs of twins, one a practicing homosexual and the other not, found that homosexual behaviour significantly increased the likelihood of suicide even after adjustments were made for substance abuse and depression. The practicing homosexual twin was over 5 times more likely to experience the suicidal symptoms. A second study in the journal by David M. Ferguson and his team found that “gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people are at increased risk of psychiatric disorder and suicidal behaviors.” The youth suffering from these disorders were 4 times as likely as their peers to suffer major depression, almost three times as likely to suffer generalized anxiety disorder, nearly 4 times as likely to experience conduct disorder, 5 times as likely to have nicotine dependence, 6 times as likely to suffer multiple disorders, and over 6 times as likely to have attempted suicide.
See the CP coverage at: https://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSTopNews/teach_aug15-cp.html
See related LifeSite coverage: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/1999/oct/991019.html#1