Don’t hide the facts about LGBT rights

WHY ARE some of the most prominent groups in the gay marriage movement saying "Don't worry, we aren't going to teach your kids about homosexuality" in response to critics of gay marriage who are afraid of exactly that?

In the context of the horrors so many kids face in school, this makes absolutely no sense.

For instance, a week after 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hanged himself to death after suffering constant homophobic taunts like "faggot" at school, another 11-year old boy, Jaheem Herrera, did the same thing for the same reason. The day before killing himself, he'd asked a friend if anyone would miss him if he wasn't here.

The image of young Black people hanging themselves is a haunting one that conjures up lynchings, and reminds us of the many levels on which bigotry still permeates our society. Understanding the needs of our youth is essential to stopping the epidemic of youth suicide, and the toothless arguments of some of the more-established gay-marriage organizations aren't helping.

For instance, Empire State Pride Agenda explains on its Web site:

Opponents of marriage equality in other states have claimed that legalizing same-sex marriage will force schools to teach young students about it. However, education experts and officials have decried those claims as scare tactics. For example, the State of California's Superintendent of Schools called the characterization "misleading, inaccurate, and...really irrelevant."

Yes, they are scare tactics, and it's important to call them out as such. But that doesn't address the damage done by neglecting the need to teach about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and our issues in school. To dismiss this as irrelevant is completely wrongheaded.

The statement continues: "States that have allowed same-sex couples to marry have not seen the same-sex marriage issue formalized as part of any school curriculum for young children. Similarly, the New York State marriage equality legislation does not have one word about education."

Why not? It's absolutely necessary. How are kids supposed to learn understanding and acceptance of LGBT people if not from kindergarten up? How are they supposed to know their feelings for others of the same or opposite sex are natural and good without formal education to counter homophobia on the playground, and out-and-proud role models all around them?

While many fine liberals have been an instrumental part of the bottom-up grassroots movement for marriage equality, the mainstream liberal argument coming from top-down LGBT groups and the politicians they woo has it backward. Besides making basic survival more difficult for kids, it's holding back the movement.

Far from scaring off politicians from supporting LGBT rights and passing much needed legislation, a fiercer strategy of scaring them into giving us what we need has historically proven more effective. We wouldn't have interracial marriage or the Civil Rights Act if people had asked politicians for them politely, instead of militantly demanding them.

Relying on lobbying organizations to "get things done" by cozying up to lawmakers has dire consequences, as Carl and Jaheem's deaths--and countless other suicides of quiet desperation--show.

By caving in to the argument not to confront those who don't support full LGBT civil rights, our fight is weakened and the period of struggle for LGBT liberation prolonged.

To win, we'll need a more radical, militant movement that fully understands the stakes and supports those who are most vulnerable to vicious homophobia--our youth.