Date: Sun, 10 Dec 1995 15:53:56 -0500 (EST)
From:        GLIL (Gay libertarians for individual liberty), GLILGuy@aol.com

The following news release was distributed to print and broadcast 
media nationwide on Wednesday, December 6, 1995, by Gays and 
Lesbians for Individual Liberty:

         Gay Activist Group Calls for Reassertion of Family Rights in
Education
GLIL Tells Congress to Support School Choice to Benefit Gay and Lesbian
Students

(WASHINGTON, December 6, 1995) -- Gay and lesbian students 
would be served best under a system of genuine school choice, 
according to the president of Gays and Lesbians for Individual
Liberty (GLIL).  Federal government interference in local school 
decisions is unwarranted and illegitimate, he added.
    In a letter to Representative Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), chairman of the
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House 
Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities, GLIL 
President Odell Huff wrote that "educational decisions under the 
current system -- which grants the government a near-monopoly -- 
are highly politicized, and are therefore subject to non-germane
political pressures that serve to undermine the mission of our 
schools."
    Hoekstra's subcommittee held hearings today and yesterday on
 the topic of "Parents, Schools, and Values."  The hearings were 
prompted by reports of government schools' programs relating to gay
and lesbian students.  Various gay and lesbian organizations have 
protested the mere existence of these hearings, arguing that they are 
a symptom of an "anti-gay agenda" held by the Republican-controlled
Congress.
    Huff noted: "Gay and lesbian students, like all students, are 
ill-served by the current government monopoly on education.  We 
believe that a system of genuine family choice in education
will be better for all children and teenagers, whether they are gay or 
straight."
    In his letter to Hoekstra, Huff explained that GLIL's position can be 
summed up in two points:
    "First, education is not a federal responsibility.  The federal 
government should not be sending taxpayer dollars to local school 
districts.  Neither should the federal government interfere in purely
local decisions, either through regulation or the withholding of funds. 
 This means if a local school district wants to pursue a gay-positive 
curriculum, the federal government should have no say in the matter.
    "Second, parents bear ultimate responsibility for their children's 
education.  Comprehensive school choice is the best way to get 
parents involved in education, and choosing a child's school --
whether government-run, religious, non-sectarian, or home-school -- 
should not be limited to wealthy people.  We applaud the efforts of 
Governor Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, for example, to extend
school choice as broadly as possible."
    Richard Sincere, a GLIL cofounder and a member of the Social 
Studies Advisory Committee of the Arlington County (Virginia) Public 
Schools, explained further:
    "Ultimately, we believe there should be a full separation of school 
and state, just as we now have a separation of church and state.  
The high level of politics injected into education hurts gay and
lesbian students.  We need to end the controversy by taking schools 
out of the hands of the government and returning them to families, 
churches, and other private institutions.  Never-ending  school wars'
harm our children and our communities."
    "We are serious about the rights and responsibilities of families," 
added Huff.  "We believe that parents who sincerely believe that a 
gay-positive curriculum is not in their child's best interest
should be able to withdraw their child from that school.  To do so, 
they need non-government alternatives, so that they do not use the 
government's force to suppress educational efforts to teach tolerance 
of gay and lesbian people."
    Huff asked Congressman Hoekstra to insert GLIL's letter into the 
permanent record of his subcommittee's hearings.  "It is important for 
everyone to know that the gay and lesbian community is not 
monolithic in its politics," Huff said.  "Many gay and lesbian citizens 
want to see an end to government interference in every aspect of our 
lives, which includes both repealing sodomy laws and ending 
government monopoly control over education."
    GLIL was founded in 1991 to promote the values of a free market, 
individual responsibility, and individual liberty within the gay and 
lesbian community, and to promote tolerance of gay and lesbian 
people within free-market circles.  For more information, call 
703-920-4023, write Box 65743, Washington, DC 20035, or send 
e-mail to glilguy@aol.com.
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