A school district meeting in Omaha, Nebraska ended in chaos and some violence Tuesday as community members screamed in protest over the district’s consideration of an expanded lesson on sex education that would include abortion, sexual preference, and gender identities, as local TV station WDAM reported.
One woman in attendance wagered that Planned Parenthood had “come in,” as part of a larger “ring” in the state to convince Omaha Public Schools (OPS) to make the changes, according to the TV report.
The district’s current policy teaches safe sex and birth control, according to the report.
The state of Nebraska was ranked 34 out of 51 (including the District of Columbia) — with 1 representing the highest rate and 51 the lowest — for pregnancies among females aged 15 through 19, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
At one point in the meeting, a woman stood up and began yelling about the ability of the district, OPS, to keep her daughters “pure.”
“I have five daughters! Five daughters!” she said. “Who’s going to keep them pure? Nobody! I am! Not OPS! Not OPS!”
The new policy was also blamed on Planned Parenthood.
“Planned Parenthood has come in,” a woman identified only as Amber Parker, was quoted in the report, “There is a big ring here. We are fighting this on the state level as well.”
The district’s supervisor of human growth and development, Karen Spencer-May, refuted this to the TV station.
“They have never been involved,” she said.
A man who attended the meeting, Jay Irwin, wrote on Facebook about the meeting and said that an instance of violence and other threats occurred against individuals for their religious beliefs and sexual orientation.
He wrote:
An athiest was physically assaulted because of her deeply held, personal beliefs and sexuality.
A group of young LGBTQ people were threatened with violence by a mother and her son for being there, for not apologizing for their sexuality, and for supporting education that was respectful of their identities. They were called evil, sinful, and told they were going to hell. The advisor that brought them, who is also queer identified, was told that she was teaching them how to be gay and that she should be ashamed of herself. When the advisor asked that the person be respectful, that’s when the treats of violence began. She ushered her groups out to make sure they stayed safe.
Spencer-May told the TV station that the new policy had drawn few critics until the meeting Tuesday.
h/t: Raw Story
