I'm back from St. Paul. -- tired but glad I had this opportunity to represent progressive people of faith.
Here's the first piece I've seen coming out of our press conference. Here's a clip with me from ABC News NOW this week.
Here's how I began and end my comments:
"As faith leaders, we offer our compassionate support to the Palin family, but we are here today to present a religious foundation for supporting programs to prevent teenage pregnancy and diseases and assure healthy futures. Governor Palin has said that her daughter made her own decision, but the party platform supports policies that deny personal decision making about sexual matters, from abstinence-only-until-marriage education to denying women abortions even in cases of rape and incest to denying same sex couples the right to marry....
It is time...it is way past time...for policy makers in both parties to cease funding abstinence-only-until marriage programs that are not only ineffective, but put our teenagers at risk -- at risk for pregnancy, at risk for disease, at risk for short changed futures, for the denial of the gift of their sexuality. It is time to provide all of our young people with comprehensive sexuality education that respects the diversity of values in a community and provides full and medically accurate information. It's the only moral response."
Here's the first piece I've seen coming out of our press conference. Here's a clip with me from ABC News NOW this week.
Here's how I began and end my comments:
"As faith leaders, we offer our compassionate support to the Palin family, but we are here today to present a religious foundation for supporting programs to prevent teenage pregnancy and diseases and assure healthy futures. Governor Palin has said that her daughter made her own decision, but the party platform supports policies that deny personal decision making about sexual matters, from abstinence-only-until-marriage education to denying women abortions even in cases of rape and incest to denying same sex couples the right to marry....
It is time...it is way past time...for policy makers in both parties to cease funding abstinence-only-until marriage programs that are not only ineffective, but put our teenagers at risk -- at risk for pregnancy, at risk for disease, at risk for short changed futures, for the denial of the gift of their sexuality. It is time to provide all of our young people with comprehensive sexuality education that respects the diversity of values in a community and provides full and medically accurate information. It's the only moral response."
What a fascinating election season this will be. It is clear from the past two weeks that sexual justice issues will be centrally discussed and debated. As progressive people of faith, I urge you to become involved. Read all you can. Volunteer. Help register people to vote. Get your absentee ballots now if you will be out of town. Talk to your friends. Make sure your young adult children are registered. VOTE.
Together, let us make sure that when the pollsters and the media and the public discuss "values voters", they know that we vote our values too.
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