Dear Missouri (particularly Reps. Cookson and Schamhorst),

Seriously, you want teachers to not talk about homosexuality in school? What would you like me to do when a students comes to me, asking for help dealing with bullying, or their parents discovery of their sexual orientation, or a child who is questioning themselves, or struggling with the idea of coming out of the closet into a world that will hate them just for one small portion of their identity.

What do I do when students decide that it is acceptable for them to say "gay" in a derogatory way, and no one is willing to correct them? Am I supposed to let that slide, since I can't actually discuss the word with them? Tell a 17 year old to not use "the g word" and hope that I don't allow that confrontation to seal the envelope on some kid's suicide note? Because, you know what? I have corrected them, more than once, and had students come tell me after class that it was the first time that anyone had made them feel comfortable or safe to express themselves. Imagine eleven years of your life where you didn't feel comfortable in any class, or around your peers, because you thought that they might even suspect something about it.

I want you to imagine living a life that makes suicide not only a viable option, but a frequently accepted one. Where all the reassurance in the world is counteracted by the fact that the word that the world uses to describe you has been banned from your school, a place that should be safe, because some ridiculous lawmakers were uncomfortable with the fact that there are children who are gay, and what? Their children might be asked to sit in classes with them and treat them like human beings? Human beings defined by more than their gender and sexual orientation but also not pushed aside because of those things?

When people refuse to talk about the things that scare them, do you know what happens, Missouri? The people become more afraid of them, and then that fear leads to anger, and as Yoda says, "anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering" Why would any one wish more suffering upon children, and children's parents? I would also point out that recent scientific study has shown us that those who are adamant in their homophobia have a direct correlation with those who are, actually, homosexual themselves.

You want to know another reason why I think you're totally full of it?
I had the privilege of seeing this kid: Zach Wahls speak on The Daily Show tonight about the book that he wrote about his two mothers entitled My Two Moms. You might remember Mr. Wahls as the young man who proudly defended his mothers' ability to marry in front of the Iowa House Judiciary Committee in this poignant and erudite speech:

I agree with Jon Stewart, that this young man is the very definition of all the values and beliefs that we wish to instill in our youth, and to have any argument that you think would stand in the face of such stalwart hope and love, is to argue in denial and eventual ridicule. My only hope is that, someday, when I marry and have children of my own, I can parent them in a way that adequately reflects the amazing job that those two women have done with their son.

I can only hope that you listen to the voices of your educators, as well as parents and students whom this bill would affect, when they say things like this:

The Missouri National Educators Association, the state's largest teachers organization, blasted the bill, stating: "[L]egislation like the "Don't Say Gay" bill, proposed by Representative Steve Cookson shackles educator's efforts to prevent bullying in our public schools."  

Unless students are exposed to new and different ways of thinking, you will find yourselves with a state full of ignorant young adults who have to idea how to deal with a world that allows for the existence of those different from themselves, and our only hope for a future where America is among the best and brightest is to allow ourselves to become better than we are.

Sincerely,
A Young Teacher