Another collection of stories from round and about:
- The Boston Globe this Sunday covered the disturbing story of separated gay dads, one of whom kidnapped their son and fled with him to Israel before being stopped by international authorities. The dads were one of the first same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts, and were profiled in a Globe series, making their marriage “a uniquely public affair.”
- On a more positive note, a few weeks ago the New York Times profiled a single gay dad by choice, i.e., he was single when he adopted his son. There has been lots written about single moms by choice, but much less so about single dads.
- The San Francisco Chronicle opined a few weeks ago that school boards should not offer official opinions on Prop. 8, the measure to ban marriage of same-sex couples. “It’s inappropriate for any school board to get involved in these kinds of social issues,” they say. Boards should focus on school matters, like low test scores and low budgets. Furthermore:
School boards need to avoid the appearance of politicization. A common attack on public schools over the last several decades – coming mostly but not exclusively from the right – is that they are trying to push an “agenda” on children and steer them into certain “lifestyles.” From English-only education to “intelligent design,” schools are already under enough pressure on political issues. There’s no need to make matters worse by choosing to jump into an issue that’s so blatantly political.
Seems sensible, though I’ll note that last week, the Broward County School Board in Florida voted to oppose that state’s marriage ban. I’d give up those endorsements, however, if only to stop school boards from debating such matters. I can’t imagine being part of an LGBT family whose school district just voted to oppose rights for my family. I think it’s impossible for any school board to ignore politics entirely, but they can focus on issues (like funding, infrastructure, and academic improvements) that have a direct impact on children’s education, without risking ugly debates and potentially alienating outcomes. What do you think? Should school boards take positions on marriage for same-sex couples?
