This situation is just plain stupid on so many levels.
A Wisconsin district attorney is urging schools to drop their sex-education programs, warning that the teachers involved could be arrested if they follow a new state law requiring them to instruct students on how to use condoms and other contraceptives.
In light of a letter from Juneau County District Attorney Scott Southworth, leaders at the five school districts in the county are evaluating what to do now, New Lisbon School District Superintendent Tom Andres told AOL News today.
[…]
The state law, called the Healthy Youth Act, took effect in March. Starting this fall, it requires schools with sex-education courses to teach students medically accurate, age-appropriate information, including how to use birth control and prevent sexually transmitted diseases. It also requires the classes to include information about how to recognize signs of abuse and how alcohol can affect decision making.
[…]
In his letter, Southworth told school district leaders the new law promotes sexual assault of children, and warns that teachers who follow the law could be charged with misdemeanor or felony delinquency of a minor, with maximum punishments ranging from nine months in jail to six years in prison.“For example, if a teacher instructs any student aged 16 or younger how to utilize contraceptives under circumstances where the teacher knows the child is engaging in sexual activity with another child — or even where the ‘natural and probable consequences’ of the teacher’s instruction is to cause that child to engage in sexual intercourse with a child — that teacher can be charged under this statue,” Southworth wrote.
“Moreover, the teacher could be charged with this crime even if the child does not actually engage in the criminal behavior,” he wrote, adding, “Our teachers should never be put in this position.”
Another attempt at an end-run around the laws by fundamentalists. I wish they’d crawl back under their rock.
Don’t district attorneys have to take an oath to up hold the laws of the state? Who does this guy think he is? Does he think he is above the law? Fire. His. Ass.
Check the history and you’ll see every single Republican in the state legislature voted against the law authorizing for-real sex education.
Lockstep reactionary cretins.
I understand that a year before the same DA wrote a similar letter to the wood shop instructors. “If you use a 2 by 4 to sodomize your students, you can be charged with a crime.”
Forewarned is forearmed.
Why stop there? The D.A. should also charge the lawmakers who created the law. The “natural and probable consequences” of the law is to cause a child to engage in sexual intercourse with a child. So they (the lawmakers and the sex-having children, too) ought to be jailed.
#2 He is upholding the law of the state. Although, he should also threaten to prosecute the teachers who take his advice for violating the other law.
The Legislature created the problem when they wrote a law requiring someone to do something against existing laws without making an exception to the existing laws. It is a catch-22, and the Legislature needs to fix it.
This isn’t about laws. It is about religion. I know this will come as a shock but this guy is an evangelical christian…
When I heard about this my first guess was that he was and so I searched his name and found this link http://beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Most-Inspiring-Person-Of-The-Year/2007/Maj-Scott-Southworth.aspx It talks about how he was in Iraq and adopted a handicapped kid which is admirable. The article includes this:
But when Southworth, a lifelong evangelical Christian, envisioned meeting Ala’a in heaven, he thought of how he would answer the boy’s question–“Why didn’t you come and get me?”
So it looks like the guy is using his own beliefs to scare the schools into doing what he wants.
Rooting for Chelsea’s law here in San Diego, woohhooo….gogogogo!
I wish all things were done this way. One person does something wrong and everyone gets the blame and the consequences. Cant wait til my turn when I give a kid a high-five *roll eyes*
I think if people fully understood and cared that an activity they are engaging in could very possibly end a life, they would reconsider that activity. Same with starting a life.
RBG
I think #6 is probably right (the lege needs to fix this) but wouldn’t the prosecutor bear the burden of actually proving the dire consequences he is predicting? Even the rather casual standard “natural and probable” seems like an easy thing to say (which is why he says it) but a slightly tougher thing to prove in a court – particularly since existing research suggests otherwise.
And teaching people how to use fire extinguishers encourages them to start fires?
I believe in making the world safe for our children, but not for our children’s children because I don’t think children should be having sex.
http://legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/SB-324.pdf
As usual this is BS.
The law does not REQUIRE county school districts to provide this education, but strongly encourages.
Also none of the existing laws would be broken as the law clearly states the material must be approved and appropriate for the ages. AND that parents must be notified. Hence an opt-out is plausible and acceptable by the law.
That means the PARENTS MUST do their job and inspect the materials and judge if their child will be included. It is BACK to the parents.
The districts are under NO legal obligation to offer such education if they do not WANT to.
These people that cry fowl and wring their hands are pure imbeciles. Just trying to scare people into submission to their will.
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>The law does not REQUIRE county school districts to
>provide this education, but strongly encourages.
That’s even worse! This lawyer has just extra-judicially banned sex education in schools.
1, If you teach contraception you might (however unlikely) be arrested.
2, You aren’t required to teach contraception
3, Conclusion don’t teach sex-ed, just to be safe.
You could do the same to ban chemistry (might make drugs), physics (might encourage nuclear proliferation), maths …. etc
No sex education is like giving loaded guns to kids and saying: “Here, you carry this around with you always, 24×7, but never, ever use it. I mean it. Just never use it, you can kill someone or die. We won’t teach you how to use it because you shouldn’t. Ever. But carry it with you. Loaded. Always.” I’m sure that would work well and no kid would get shot.
Of course, since this DA is really just issuing this to circumvent the law of the land because the law of his Gawd means more, logic just doesn’t apply. He’s helping them poor sould not go to hell, and buying a place for himself in the process. Nothing could trump that.
I grew up in Wisconsin and remember when selling condoms was illegal. Of course, I remember when selling margarine was illegal in the Dairy State, too. Don’t recall if, when those laws were rescinded, if it was legal to use margarine and condoms together.
The objective is to keep topics sex under the rug – for all ages. It’s bad, dirty and just gets us in trouble.
“drop their sex-education programs”
There’s the motive.
Sounds like a platform for a political party.
Wait, guess what.
Now go check the political party affiliation of that DA who is employed in “Justice”.
When I was in public high school in the mid-60s, we got one class on sex ed that consisted of scare tactics (gonorrhea, syphilis), and nothing about contraception. There was also a scare tactic movie about drugs, mostly about pot (which none of us had heard of–this was a couple years before the Summer of Love). Too many of us found themselves parents at 18. So much for “just don’t do it” sex education.
What is it about america that causes its people to have such stupid hangups about sex.
I’m not just talking about the religious nutjobs, but even those ‘funny’ video shows will pixelize a person’s ass (to prevent the inflaming of passion I guess) where in every other western country we get to see asses in all their glory.
This DA should face the same fate as that Judge who snuck his 10 Commandmnets into “his” court. The judge found out it wasn’t “his” court, but the People’s Court, and he was REMOVED FROM THE BENCH !!! This DA should be removed and DIS-BARRED !!
Whatever else this guy is, he’s a serious dude:
http://ourmilitaryheroes.defense.gov/profiles/southworthS.html
Oh look, it’s The Enigma! (Interesting poster.) He’s unusual even for an entertainer…
You may have seen him in the X-Files episode “Humbug” (Season 2, Episode 20), set in a Florida town where lots of circus folk live.
God hates Christians.
I’m failing to understand something here: I thought the US had separation between Church & State.
So, how can publicly funded schools be so influenced by a religious groups or individuals.
Where has all the common sense gone?
Keep them at home that day or let the go and explain why/how you don’t agree with what was taught.
Naive Canadian
May HIS Life be filled with Lawyers