1st Graders take Sex Survey

I cannot believe this, I am so mad right now, You have to read this article and then the opinion from Alabama House of Representative, Jo Bonner. It is about 1st, 3rd, & 5th graders taking a sex survey in school. I will post the survey if I can find it anywhere online. We gotta do something about this people!!!

[News Article]
House Scolds Court on Sex Survey Suit Toss WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2005

(AP) The House voted Wednesday to scold a San Francisco-based federal appeals court for dismissing a lawsuit by parents outraged that a school district surveyed their young children about sex. Over objections from some Democrats who complained Republicans were seeking the kind of judicial activism the GOP normally denounces, lawmakers voted 320 to 91 for a resolution that said the decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “deplorably infringed on parental rights.”The resolution says the 9th Circuit should rehear Fields v. Palmdale School District. The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel earlier this month said that “parents are possessed of no constitutional right to prevent the public schools from providing information” on sex to students. “What we are speaking to here is a case in which a court, I believe, far overreached the issues involved in a case and declared parenting unconstitutional,” said Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., who offered the resolution.But Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., said Congress shouldn’t get involved.”Here we bash the court for not creating a new constitutional right never before proclaimed … in order to overturn a local school decision,” he said. The Palmdale School District, north of Los Angeles, had given the survey to first-, third- and fifth-graders, but dropped it in 2002 after parents complained. It was part of a program to gauge early trauma and help youngsters overcome barriers to learning, and asked students, among other things, how often they thought about sex. Wednesday’s vote was the latest example of lawmakers chafing at a decision of the 9th Circuit, which has angered conservatives and some Democrats with rulings like one in 2002 that declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional when recited in public schools. House Republicans are pushing legislation to divide the circuit, which covers nine Western states, into two pieces, arguing it’s gotten too big to be effective. The Bush administration supports the move but it’s meeting resistance in the Senate.

The bill is H. Res. 547.
[News Article End]
[Opinion] Court says schools can ask about sex

I was outraged by the recent ruling of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stating that parents no longer have a say in what public schools teach their students.

You may have heard that the court held “that there is no free-standing fundamental right of parents to control the upbringing of their children by introducing them to matters of and relating to sex in accordance with their personal and religious values and beliefs.”
The case involved parents who sued their local school district after their first, third and fifth grade children were given a survey containing graphic questions about sex.

The survey asked questions such as whether the children ever thought about having sex or touching other people’s “private parts” and whether they could “stop thinking about having sex.” These were questions asked to first graders!

The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit has a history of legislating from the bench. The most notable example is the 2002 decision that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is unconstitutional because it contains the phrase “under God.” Thankfully, the decision was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The House is taking steps to split this overburdened court, thereby creating new vacancies for President Bush to fill. This plan would create a new 12th Circuit consisting of Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, leaving the 9th Circuit with California, Hawaii, Guam, and the Northern Marianas Islands.

I am hopeful that the president will fill the four longstanding vacancies currently open on the 9th Circuit, and I encourage him to continue appointing the strong, constitutionally-minded justices he has in the past.

Last week the House passed the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005. The legislation was passed in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s narrowly-decided Kelo vs. New London case, which ruled that a property’s potential for economic improvement outweighs an individual’s right to his property.

The House legislation enhances the penalty for states and localities that abuse their eminent domain power.

My staff and I work for you. Please call if we can be of service.

Jo Bonner represents the people of this area in the U.S. House of Representatives.
[End of Opinion]