All the Beauty They Possess Inside
“Investing in [children] is not a national luxury or a national choice. It’s a national necessity.” Thus spoke Marian Wright Edelman, President and Founder of the Children’s Defense Fund.
Edelman’s words were more prophetic than anyone could have realized. Today, our nation faces a crisis in its moral soul, a crisis in basic humanity of the current immigration policy that separates children from their parents.
As expected, many liberals are speaking out vehemently against this action. But Laura Bush just stated, “I live in a border state. I appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international boundaries, but this zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart. Our government should not be in the business of warehousing children in converted box stores or making plans to place them in tent cities….”
Rev. Franklin Graham remarked, “It’s disgraceful, and it’s terrible to see families ripped apart, and I don’t support that one bit.” Liberal (?) voices such as those of Laura Bush and Rev. Franklin Graham need to be heard!
There also are critical issues involving children in Delaware. The Board of Directors of CAMP Rehoboth, in concert with Equality Delaware and the Delaware ACLU, is asking everyone to oppose Regulation 225 because it rolls back a decade of nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ youth.
CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Murray Archibald says: “It violates nondiscrimination protections guaranteed by federal law under Title IX. It also forces students to come out of the closet in order to receive protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in school.”
Mark Purpura, Board Member of Equality Delaware and CAMP Rehoboth says “Regulation 225 would affirmatively permit discrimination against LGBTQ students in schools based on their sexual orientation or gender identity if the student’s parents refuse to agree that the student is gay/lesbian/transgender.”
There are major issues involved in Regulation 225: forced outing of transgender students, participation in extracurricular activities apart from one’s preferred gender, no model policy for all school districts to adopt, and the dangerous message that the State of Delaware may not assure these students’ safety.
The LGBTQ children of this state are not consistently given a forum to raise their voices, so we must raise ours on their behalf. Current state politics are such that the loudest voice at the party wins. Of the eleven thousand comments submitted to DOE since Regulation 225 was unveiled, the vast majority were from those whose opinion is contrary to those of CAMP Rehoboth, Equality Delaware, and the Delaware ACLU. You have a week left to get this back in balance!
Delaware residents have until July 6 to submit comments to the Department of Education. Send comments to DOEregulations.comment@doe.k12.de.us.
This call to action comes at a time when hatred flourishes across our nation and our state.
Lest one be overwhelmed by all the setbacks in equality and lose hope for progress, good news comes from Boyertown, Pennsylvania. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third District in Philadelphia unanimously ruled that the Boyertown School District may continue its policy of allowing transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that are in line with their gender identity. The decision was based upon adherence to Title IX anti-discrimination language—which, by the way, Regulation 225 clearly violates.
A conservative legal group filed suit on behalf of six students who claimed to feel uncomfortable seeing transgender students using the restroom of their choice. Circuit Judge McKee said the students who sued had not shown that the school district’s policy infringed on their rights to “bodily privacy” or otherwise caused them irreparable harm. In a strategy being utilized more frequently by conservatives, the students who sued claimed they were victims of discrimination.
As reported by Mark Purpura, “The Third Circuit made it clear that in states like Delaware, it will protect the health, safety, and well-being of transgender children, regardless of how many public comments are received.” [Italics added.]
Whitney Houston’s famous song, “Greatest Love of All,” speaks to our relationship with children. “I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty they possess inside. Give them a sense of pride to make it easier. Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be.”
Please write your letter right now! ▼
David Garrett is a straight advocate for equality and inclusion. He is also the proud father of an adult transdaughter. Email David Garrett