July 03, 2019 03:04 PM UTC

New Pro-LGBTQ Laws Prompt Campaign to Convince Parents to Pull Kids Out of Public Schools

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• by: Jason Salzman

(Promoted by Colorado Pols)

Claiming that this year the “Colorado legislature has radicalized our public schools and chipped away at the authority of parents,” advocates of home schooling say it’s time to pull children out of public schools.

Why? New Colorado laws banning conversion therapy for minors and requiring comprehensive sex education courses, including the experiences of LGBTQ students, in schools that choose to teach sex ed.

“One of these new laws will make it illegal for a licensed counselor to help a child work through any gender confusion he or she may have,” says former Republican lawmaker Kevin Lundberg in an online video for ColoradoHomeSchool.com, run by the Christian Home Educators of Colorado. “And the new sex education law will force public schools to teach this new morality.”

In fact, parents and schools can opt not to participate in sex education. And advocates for LGBTQ rights point out that “conversion therapy” has been widely discredited and is opposed for use by medical professionals by, among others, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association.

“If you are troubled by these radical policies, you need to find a better way for your family,” says Lundberg in the video, referring to Colorado’s new laws. “…The future well being, health, and moral values of your children could hang in the balance.

“Your public school may not be the right choice,” says Lundberg in the video. “But what is? For many parents, private school is just too expensive. And they never thought home schooling could work for them. Now is the time to take another look.”

The Christian Home Educators of Colorado website has information and on home schooling including videos and guidebooks for sale.

Catholic schools have tried to leverage the sex-ed law to draw people to Catholic schools.

“Our Catholic schools are more than you realize,” wrote Archbishop Samuel Aquila in a letter opposing the sex-ed bill. “They provide a haven amidst our morally confused culture, educate the whole person and assist parents in forming their children in an authentically Catholic worldview, one that recognizes the dignity of the human person created for God…. I encourage every parent with school-aged children to consider this opportunity to learn about how a Catholic education can greatly benefit their children.”

LGBTQ groups say the new laws were overdue, after being blocked by Republicans for years.

Colorado’s conversion-therapy ban “sends the message to LGBTQ youth that they were born perfect and should be affirmed for exactly what they are,” according to Daniel Ramos, Director of One Colorado, an LGBTQ rights organization.

“The [sex ed] curriculum is being prepared by Planned Parenthood,” Lundberg falsely states in the video. (The law sets guidelines for sex ed, but doesn’t specify a curriculum.)