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We want to be very clear; our organization is NOT against the LGBTQ community in any way, shape or form! In fact many of our members are part of the LGBTQ community, and we fight to protect their parents’ rights, ALSO.
Consider this: In an effort to help others, have we gone too far? Parents’ Rights In Education defends all students. They should be required to respect one another, and bullying of any kind, toward anyone should not be tolerated. PRIE takes a strong stand for tolerance, inclusivity, and equity for all students in the public schools. Our concern stems from the many complaints from students, parents, and teachers of inequities in these areas. Unfortunately, the extreme focus on LGBTQ initiatives has created an unintended backlash, as some students feel marginalized and threatened for holding their traditional viewpoint. HARRIS POLL A January, 2020 article By Susan Miller | USA Today stated, “Young people are growing less tolerant of LGBTQ individuals, a jarring turn for a generation traditionally considered embracing and open, a survey released Monday shows. The number of Americans 18 to 34 who are comfortable interacting with LGBTQ people slipped from 53% in 2017 to 45% in 2018 – the only age group to show a decline, according to the annual Accelerating Acceptance report. And that is down from 63% in 2016. Driving the dilution of acceptance are young women whose overall comfort levels plunged from 64% in 2017 to 52% in 2018, says the survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD. “We count on the narrative that young people are more progressive and tolerant,” John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll, told USA TODAY. “These numbers are very alarming and signal a looming social crisis in discrimination.” Dividing people is not helpful. No one minority can require everyone subscribe to their views. When anti-discrimination laws were passed, they were meant to affirm the rights for all, not exclusive from some. Sexual Orientation Anti-Discrimination statutes have been interpreted to require LGBTQ norms not only respected, but accepted by all students. Based on these laws, state legislatures have required public schools to teach homosexuality, and all other sexual practices as normal, natural, and equal. Schools have invited LGBTQ groups to promote alternate lifestyles through Equality Committees designed to monitor students’ attitudes toward one another. Students are encouraged to question “what they are” based on this approach to sexuality. Activities such as LGBTQ student clubs, political demonstrations, Human Rights Week, Day of Silence, and Gay Proms are celebrated and promoted. Students who do not agree to accept the ideology are considered hateful, marginalized, and labeled “homophobic bigots.” For example, in 2020, an Oregon middle school student was sexually harassed and bullied by a trans boy in WL/Wilsonville. When he could not get mutual respect, he raised his voice asking the other boy to leave him alone. Unfortunately the straight student was discriminated against and was asked by the district to leave, because the trans student claimed he was not “safe.” This has gone too far. In defense of the majority student population, and differing viewpoints, Parents' Rights In Education is concerned with the out-of-balance representation of LGBTQ ideology. We are not condemning it, as some want to portray. Students are preoccupied and divided by extreme political influences. Tolerance, it seems, no longer applies to those who disagree. One cannot gain true respect through shaming and name calling. The extreme focus on alternative lifestyles can hurt the very people it aims to help, as resentment builds in the community at large. Where is the common ground? We must find it. 
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