Pages

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Wake Up Missouri

Okay Missouri, I love ya.  You're my home state.  You have the most caves out of any state in the U.S.  You even elected a dead man as your Governor because you knew John Ashcroft would be a horrible choice (unfortunately, George W. promptly appointed him Attorney General - you win some, you lose some).

But you are kinda embarrassing me on the political front.

First off, one of your candidates running for the United States Senate "isn't sure" what the Violence Against Women Act is.  And the candidate is a WOMAN.  Sigh.  You guys, seriously?  Don't elect this person.  Granted, I no longer live there, but if you want my two cents, you should keep Claire McCaskill representing your state.  She's conservative (in my opinion) but at least she probably knows what the Violence Against Women Act is... Sheesh.

And speaking of violence against women what is this I'm reading about legislation you passed nicknamed the "don't say gay" bill?

Ugh.

This is seriously awful, you guys.  How can kids learn about sexuality, their own or their peers, if you make it illegal to talk about it?

Here's the bill if you want to read it yourself, but here's a nice excerpt... 170.370. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no instruction, material, or extracurricular activity sponsored by a public school that discusses sexual orientation other than in scientific instruction concerning human reproduction shall be provided in any public school.

This is bad, y'all.  How can kids learn about sexuality, their own or their peers', if you make it illegal to talk about it?  

TEACH them about reproduction, TEACH them about menstruation, TEACH them about childbirth, TEACH them about sexually transmitted diseases, TEACH them about birth control, TEACH them about masturbation, TEACH them about homosexuality and gender issues, TEACH them about hygene, TEACH them about their bodies!  

You don't have impregnate them so they understand giving birth, you don't have to turn them gay to bring awareness to sexual orientation, you don't have to infect them with the human papillomavirus to make them understand STDs.  But you do need to teach these kids what these words mean, what happens to their bodies and how to make healthy choices now that they have this information!

Make school a safe place to talk about sexuality.  The teenage years are confusing enough without y'all making it illegal to talk about it.

Locate your district.  Find your senator.  And then write him or her.  
Then, to find your representative in the house, look him or her up here.
Or just send the senate a general email: sweb@senate.mo.gov.

Okay, that was easy.  Speak up.  It's your state.  It's your kids.  Speak out against violence and speak on behalf of education.  Go Missouri.  Show me what you're made of.

No comments: