LONDON, Ontario, April 14, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The trustees of the Thames Valley (Public) School Board have approved a measure that will bring in “gay” programming for students. The measure went ahead despite opposition from hundreds of pro-family advocates and students who came out to protest the idea on previous occasions. The move is being touted as an expansion of its “safe schools” policy, meant to foster a more “gay-friendly” environment at district schools. The London Free Press account said the measure will “put same-sex books in libraries, and have homophobia discussed in plays.” A London Free Press article claimed that a disruption at a March 30 public hearing was instigated by opponents of the new program. In actual fact, a pro-family observer told LifeSiteNews.com that the pro-family crowd was very civil, but that a much smaller group of homosexual activists, who took issue with any pro-family comments, created the disturbance. Eventually, an individual from this smaller group was escorted from the room, and all public input was thereafter suppressed.
During Tuesday’s debate of the issue, the only dissent came from Trustee Art Cartier, who said “There is no need to add one word to our current policy.” His comments were met with applause from the 150 members of the public in attendance. Trustee Peggy Sattler, who introduced the proposal in 2003, compared the Thames Valley program with a BC decision to allow homosexual materials in elementary school classrooms. In the Final Report of the Ad Hoc Committee to Address Concerns of Gay/Lesbian Students, she wrote, “In its recent decision supporting the use of gaypositive elementary classroom materials in BC schools, over the objections of a small group of parents, the Supreme Court noted ‘children cannot learn tolerance unless they are exposed to views that differ from those they are taught at home.’” Sattler’s report seems to compare homosexual discrimination with the victimization of Jews during the Holocaust. Her report recommends a “Non-discriminatory, non-biased inclusion and representation in curriculum; i.e. consideration of homosexual persecution when studying the Holocaust, etc.” Other recommendations made by the ad-hoc committee included “…sexual orientation should be…taught throughout the curriculum – in history, the arts, science, and literature – not just during health classes…Normalizing lesbians, gays and bisexuals as an integral part of society, rather than marginalizing or excluding them, helps to promote a more positive self-image for GLBT2 [gay, lesbian, transgendered, and ‘two-spirited’] students.”