Health Issues Dropped Because Of ACLU
(Salt Lake City, Utah) A $100,000 grant to convince LGBT youth not to smoke has been cancelled by the Utah Department of Health after an incident last month at a Salt Lake City high school.
The annual recurring grant was used by Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Community Center of Utah to create an anti-smoking campaign called "Queers Kick Ash". The campaign was designed by gay teens for gay teens.
A study last year found that 34 percent of LGBT adults smoke, compared to 24 percent of heterosexual adults, and 90 percent of smokers began smoking as teenagers. Despite those figures, 89 percent of LGBT adults said that they had not seen an anti-smoking education or awareness campaign targeted toward them.
The "Queers Kick Ash" effort is part of a larger campaign to address that gap and uses peer advocacy to discourage LGBT youth from smoking.
But last month three Hillcrest High School students who wore "Queers Kick Ash" T shirts to class were punished by Assistant Principal David Breen, who told them that the shirts were inappropriate and that he disapproved of the word "queer." (story)
Two gay male students were given three options: taking the shirts off, turning them inside out, or suspension. One turned his shirt inside out and was allowed to stay at school; the other refused and was suspended. A heterosexual girl who wore the same shirt was given an additional fourth option of being sent home for the day without suspension, which she accepted.
The following day more than a dozen students wore the shirts to school and were similarly punished, Breen also threatened to bring the school's gay-straight alliance, which wasn't involved in distributing the t-shirts, to "a screeching halt."
The American Civil Liberties Union threatened to sue and negotiations are continuing with the school district.
But, with the GLBT Center's grant coming up for renewal, the Health Department Thursday said it would not provide more money to the group.
The Department declined to specify why the grant renewal was rejected.
"It is shameful that this incident is being used as a pretext to eliminate a tobacco prevention grant affecting all gay and lesbian high school students served by the GLBT Community Center," said William V. Corr, executive director, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
"What lessons will these adults have taught Utah's students about diversity, about respect for differing opinions and about conflict resolution? The failure to renew this grant sends a terrible message to gays and lesbians in Utah, and to gay and lesbian youth in particular, that while the tobacco companies value their business, state leaders do not value their health."
http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/06/060304utahSmoke.htm
Its good to see that health really is important in this country afterall :(
It a shame that such a message has had to be cancelled because of the ACLU's actions :(
Regards,
Lee
