“To make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.” – Louis L’Amour

Today, I did something. I voted. Well, sort of. Instead of complaining or just observing, I participated. I did something for the future of our children. I showed up to tell the people who serve the public in Arizona that enough is enough. 

I showed up to the Arizona State Board of Education building around 8:30am, a place I have never stepped foot inside before. The meeting was scheduled for 10am and I proudly sported my brand new #purpleforparents tank top. I was greeted by many others in purple shirts, some I recognized from our Facebook group and others became instant new friends. 

I grabbed a seat, and the room began filling quickly. It filled up with purple shirt after purple shirt.

Purple for Parents at AZ Board of Education

My guess was that the board was not prepared for so many people to be at this meeting. I also guessed that this sort of turn out for a board meeting doesn’t happen much in general since the main room only housed 128 people (and there had to be at least double that trying to get in). 

The point for us all showing up was to have the superintendent hear our concern over opening up the current rules regarding the sex ed curriculum.

Personally, I was not really the type of person you would think would have shown up. You see, I have already chosen to send my children to a private school. I desire for them to have a good, Christian education. I am also horrified with what is going on in the public school system in general. 

However, one thing I have learned over the past 2.5 years is how to advocate. My son has Down Syndrome and all I have learned how to do these last few years is fight, beg, plead, research and demand the proper therapies/tests/tools, etc. that he needs. 

So, here I am, doing the same for the parents who are working or had no means to be at this meeting. I was here for the hundreds, if not thousands of parents that were appalled by the possibility of Arizona allowing Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE) to be allowed in the public schools.

To sum up the 4 hours of testimony, there were 73 speakers. The emotions ran high. There were tears, fears, name calling and pleas. Everyone laid it out on the table.

Parents giving speeches at Arizona Board of Education

There were 68 who spoke out in opposition to opening up the rules. There were just 5 who were in agreement with the superintendent. Just 5!

When it was all said and done, Superintendent Kathy Hoffman decided to pull her motion off the table. However, that did not stop President of the AZ School Board, Lucas Narducci, from still asking the entire board their thoughts and opinions on the matter. 

Each one would have shot the motion down. It was a double loss situation for Superintendent Hoffman. 

IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE, READ THIS!!

Hint…this is important…This is also being left out of every news source that reported on this event (including Breitbart!)

The point I think most people missed in all of this is that the LGBTQ community is being used. The new sex ed curriculum uses “inclusion” of the LGBTQ community as a guise to introduce disturbing, sexual material to the minds of the youngest in our public school system. Don’t believe me? Keep on reading…

For example, the CSE curriculum promotes sexual pleasure and promiscuity as a “right” for children. If that is not disturbing in and of itself, continue on…

Just visit the “Stop CSE” website, it has a plethora of information. They definitely worded the goal of the CSE much better than I can restate:

“The ultimate goal of CSE is to change the sexual and gender norms of society, which is why CSE could be more accurately called “abortion, promiscuity, and LGBT rights education.” CSE is a “rights-based” approach to sex education and promotes sexual rights to children at the expense of their sexual health.”

That’s it. The crux of the whole situation is what CSE ACTUALLY promotes is harmful, not inclusive and not helpful.

Further, there’s more to consider about CSE: 

• CSE teaches children to masturbate.
• CSE encourages acceptance and exploration of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities
• CSE promotes high risk sexual behaviors (including anal and oral sex) and teaches they are safe.
• CSE promotes sexual pleasure and promiscuity as a right for children.
• CSE promotes abortion as safe and without consequences.
• CSE encourages children to experiment sexually with individuals of their own sex or the opposite sex.
• CSE claims access to “comprehensive sexuality education” is a human right.
• CSE teaches children and youth they are sexual from birth.
• CSE promotes condoms to children without informing them of their failure rates.
• CSE promotes disrespect for parents and religious and cultural values.
• CSE promotes sexual counseling, information or services to minors without parental consent.
• CSE trains children to advocate for their “sexual rights” in laws and policies.
• CSE encourages “peer to peer” sexuality education.

The other very disturbing thing to point out is how the media handled this news. Most outlets didn’t even acknowledge the tremendous amount of opposition, the sea of purple or truly how emotional this topic is. It was written off in most cases with very few sentences and lack of honesty.

Needless to say, journalism can be very deceptive. 

Breitbart came out with a very nice article, but it still missed the point. Superintendent Hoffman missed the point. Anybody sporting red shirts or “protect trans kids” shirts missed the point. 

CSE is harmful to ALL students. CSE is deceptive and scary. CSE needs to stay out of public education. 

My final question is this: why is Superintendent Hoffman so obsessed with this topic when clearly she was outnumbered both by purple and the entire rest of the board? What’s in it for her? Find that answer and you will find that it has nothing to do with our children.