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AFA of PA Joins National Coalition Urging Parents to Keep Kids Home on “Day of Silence”

February 27, 2008

COLUMBUS, OH -- A nationwide coalition of Christian and pro-family groups is calling for parents to keep children out of schools on Friday, April 25, 2008 — the day when thousands of middle schools, junior highs, and high schools will observe the 12th annual “National Day of Silence.”

Buddy Smith of American Family Association asserts, “It’s outrageous that our neighborhood schools would allow homosexual activism to intrude into the classroom. ‘Day of Silence’ is about coercing students to repudiate traditional morality. It’s time for Christian parents to draw the line — if your children will be exposed to this DOS propaganda in their school, then keep them home for the day.”

“It amounts to educational malpractice for school officials to engage in one-sided homosexual activism,” said Matt Barber of Concerned Women for America. “Our schools are supposed to be places of learning, not places of political indoctrination. It is the height of impropriety and cynicism for “gay” activists and school officials to use children as pawns in their attempt to further a highly controversial and polarizing political agenda.”

“Day of Silence” is promoted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a homosexual activist group that targets schools. The event is typically organized by a school’s Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) and is designed to pressure students to regard homosexual, bisexual, and transgender behavior as normal and worthy. Students and even some teachers remain silent throughout the school day, disrupting the teaching environment. Protesters wear t-shirts and hand out “speaking cards” protesting alleged injustice, harassment, prejudice, and discrimination toward “LGBT” people and their “allies.”

“Social activism does not belong in the classroom,” says Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth. “Students would be far better served by reading a good book at home — perhaps even the Bible — rather than being subjected to pro-'gay' indoctrination.”

This year, GLSEN adds a special twist to “Day of Silence”: shameless exploitation of the recent tragic school shooting death of California 8th grade student Lawrence King. Los Angeles media report that although the boy had been entrusted to the care of Casa Pacifica, a residential center for “abused, neglected, and severely emotionally disturbed children,” he had been permitted for the last two weeks to attend school in feminine makeup, nail polish, and high-heeled boots. The adult guardians, school administrators, and teachers responsible for guiding and protecting this precious troubled child failed him miserably; GLSEN fails him again now by employing his violent death to manipulate and deceive millions of children.

What should parents do?

Call your local schools and ascertain whether they officially or passively allow students to observe “Day of Silence.” For a list of schools expected to participate, check www.missionamerica.com/agenda.php?articlenum=78.
Be sure to discover on what date the event is planned for your school. (The national date is April 25, but some schools observe DOS on a different date).
Inform the school of your intention to keep your children home on that date and explain why. (A sample letter is posted along with the school listings.)
Explain to your children why you’re taking a stand: Homosexual behavior is not an innate identity; it is sinful and unnatural. No school should advance a physically, emotionally, and spiritually destructive sexual lifestyle to students.
Pray with your children for sexual purity and for wisdom to lovingly counsel sexually confused teenagers in your own community. Grieve for Lawrence King.
Encourage your church leadership to follow the bold example of Pastor Ken Hutcherson who is vocally opposing “Day of Silence” in his community in Redmond, Washington.
Let your light shine by spreading the word to your church and neighbors, and explain that most school districts lose money for every absence.

Linda Harvey of Mission America urges parents to understand that “Homosexual activism creates an explosive situation in schools. I encourage parents to keep their children home on ‘Day of Silence.’ Let’s pray that in the future, schools will offer hope to students who are sexually confused by first telling them the truth.”

Gary Glenn of AFA Michigan, said:

"The director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force broke homosexual activists' code of silence on the threat homosexual behavior poses to young people's health when he admitted this month that HIV 'is a gay disease.' GLSEN should cancel its celebration of that code of silence about the severe public health hazards of homosexual behavior, and any school administrator who continues to stand silent while enabling the promotion of such harmful behavior should be sued for criminal negligence."

The coalition includes: Abiding Truth Ministries, American Family Association, AFA of MI, AFA of PA, Americans for Truth, Christian Information Service, Christian Civic League of Maine, Concerned Women for America, Culture Campaign, Defend the Family International, Exodus Mandate, Illinois Family Institute, Indiana Voice for the Family, Informing Christians, Liberty Counsel, MassResistance, Mission America, New Generation Christian Center, Parents' Rights' Coalition, Right March, Stephen Bennett Ministries, Values USA, Watchmen on the Walls.

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