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| No | 51% | 264 votes | Total: 516 votes | |
| Yes | 49% | 252 votes |
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Add to FavoritesEach citizen of the United States is entitled to a decent education (in theory if not in practice). There are many educational institutions and many religious groups that have their own privately owned and funded schools. Since these schools are privately sponsored, they should not be forced to accept anyone, especially anyone whose lifestyle or background contradicts or is offensive to the schools' religion.
Many people feel that the education provided in religious sponsered schools is better than the secular alternative. Some of the people who feel that way, much to their chagrin, insist upon seperation of church and state. I guess it's true what they say about having your cake and eating it too.
The constitution guarantees every citizen religious freedom and the right to assemble. Intrinsic to the right of assembly is the right to NOT assemble, meaning that people who belong to religious organizations or other private (exclusive) groups CANNOT be forced to associate with someone who they may disagree with or find offensive. To be sure, people who belong to government-funded, non-private organizations CAN AND ARE forced to associate with people that they might not agree with. (Brown vs. Topeka Board of Education settled that matter.) To mandate that religious institutions accept any student or faculty is akin to saying that the Klu Klux Klan has to accept African Americans; the statement is, of course, hyperbolic, but stranger things have been suggested. (As a side note, the KKK, the Nazi party and other such groups, have a right to exist in this country. They have a right to believe what they want and to hate whomever or whatever they want so long as they don't interfere with the rightst of other citizens. Just try to display a swastika in Germany though!)
Let's not forget that there is a practical reason why religious schools should not be forced to admit everyone who asks: Jews and Samaritans don't like each other; cats and dogs; Tom and Jerry; Republicans and Democrats; Oprah Winfrey and Jenny Craig - you get the idea. Should we really legislate an already volatile situation? This is part of the reason why many private religious groups decided to have their own schools - to reduce the chance for conflict as well as to preserve their religious heritage. Any rights that secularists have for forced admission is superseded by the rights of religious organizations to maintain their sanctity.
In Tinker vs. Des Moines, the Supreme Court decided (and rightfully so) to uphold the right to free speech. Ironically, too many public schools (where, presumably, they still teach American history) need a history refresher course: student suspended for wearing Islamic scarf;
http://story.news.ya hoo.com/news?tmpl=st ory&cid=669& nci... , student suspended for wearing anti-gay religious T-shirt sues; http://www.signonsan diego.com/news/educa tion/20040604-9999-1 mi4powskul.html.
It is obvious that there is a particular degree of conflict that exists between religious and non-religious people. That's not to say that we CANNOT work together or be educated together.FORCING a private institution to violate its mandate is anothe issue, however, and would most likely result in crippling the education process. Both groups would probably agree that such action would be senseless.
Learn more about this author, Bobby Brown.
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Yes
Let Us Be Together.
One's education especially in developed societies such as ours is important. To be literate and imaginative, to be ambitious and goal oriented, to be whatever we want to be. This is what we are taught in class from day one in kindergarten all the way through University and there on after. Most importantly are we not taught to be human? I would like to assume and remember so, for the sake of my future kids.
I had spent my elementary and high school education in a catholic instituation. Every morning after singing the National Anthem we as a class would say our prayers, we ate lunch together, played during lunch break and recess together, studied and went of field trips together. Together along with the so called "gay kid." that no one really knew was gay but assumed it because of his or her odd tendencies. As improper as it sounds, I wanted to make it sound as similiar to the topic of debate, "Should Christian schools be required to accept children of gay parents?" because seriously, why are we even debating about this?
When children are enrolled into a school, from my knowledge unless it is a high end private school, children are not screened for their sexual orientation, because who really knows that their child is homosexual at such an age. Now instead of allowing our youth to focus on their studies and figure out how to get over koodies, we want to teach our children to segragate classmates because of their parents sexual orientation.
This is the year 2007, is it not? do we not have gay co-workers, let alone gay relatives? I do not believe that children who have same sex parents deserve to be punished or given the short end of a stick for something that they had no control over. Children have the right to have a proper education, Children have the right to be enrolled into a school which their parents see fit for them. Children also have the right to be given equal opportunity, regardless of what any head of an institution decides.
When it comes down to it a school who denies children education due to their parents livlihoods, is a school not worth calling themselves an institution of education. Yes it is deemed "wrong" to be homosexual through christian faith but is it not a greater evil to deny fellow men the right to a nonprejudice life.
Taking a qoute out of the bible, "He who has not sinned shall be the one to cast the first stone."
Education is very accessible in our nation, If an institution denies a child the right to education, for any reason except for the fact that they may be dangerous to their classmates. Then that school should be denied by its community. Simple as that, teach our children math, english, pysics, and life. Do not teach them to hate.
I am proud to have gay relatives, classmates, coworkers, friends.
This is 2007 not 1967, let life rise above all negativity.Stand up for one another, do not stand as one, alone. We need to teach our children brotherhood, deny them a class of segregation. For they are our future let us not allow them to live in the past.
Learn more about this author, Juanito Aguil.
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