My Word: Discriminating between right, wrong OK

By John Stemberger
December 19, 2012

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-anti-discrimination-schools-myword-121912-20121218,0,4905531.story

The Orange County School Board just passed a "gender identity and expression" nondiscrimination policy. This sounds great until you learn the impact the language has that the board didn't seem to care much about.

Hey, it says nondiscrimination, so it has to be good, right? Wrong.

Parents should be outraged at the School Board's decision, which violates personal dignity and common sense. The board created a new protected class for students and teachers who are ->-bleeped-<-s or have sex changes, and all others who identify as transgender. But when school-age children are involved, a number of inappropriate and dangerous things can take place.

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My Word: LGBT opponents rely on misdirection

By Randy Stephens
December 30, 2012

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-glbt-response-myword-123012-20121228,0,1479608.story

In response to John Stemberger's Dec. 19 My Word column, "Discriminating between right, wrong OK," I am not convinced that Stemberger and I attended the same meeting of the Orange County School Board.

But then again, considering the history of misstatements and exaggerations by Stemberger's group, it is difficult to know what to believe.

For example, The Florida Family Policy Council (FFPC), of which Stemberger is president, published an "action alert" concerning pending School Board action on non-discrimination matters. Among the erroneous and inaccurate statements made in this alert, which was only meant to spread fear and confusion among parents, were:

-Creates special rights for gays and transgendered.

I believe I have an excellent picture to represent my reaction to John Stemberger's article..

Quote from: MaidofOrleans on December 30, 2012, 03:46:57 PM
I believe I have an excellent picture to represent my reaction to John Stemberger's article..

Actually, I had a stronger response to Stephens' very weak reply. He could have taken the opportunity to point out that the "boys" referred to in Sternberger's article are actually females in all but body. He could have asked the question whether it was cruel to require, as Sternberger suggests, transgender girls to use the locker room and bathroom used by boys. He could have pointed out that transgender people are just as capable as anyone else, and that reassigning a teacher simply because they are transgender is closed minded and discriminatory.

Instead, he says basically nothing to back up his accusation of false statements, reckless claims, and hate-mongering, making himself (and by association, our entire community) sound like name-callers.