Small government ... by small minds.

News flash: telling teenagers with overactive hormones and spare time on their hands that there is a forbidden subject that can no longer be discussed may have unintended consequences.

Are Republicans really this stupid? Now you can't have a discussion about sex without breaking a law? Now kissing and holding hands are against the law? Wow, Republicans are really anal. They worry so much about what others do between the sheets. How about worrying about yourselves first before telling others what they can or can't do.

Yeah, not talking about it is going to make all those horny teens stop thinking about it 24/7.

These people are nuts.

I remember being 15. I knew what parts of a girl I wanted to touch. I didnt need to be told.

So if you don't tell them about these "gateway" activities they will never figure them out on their own? Really? Why is it that Repugs are so obsessed with sex? Whether it is banning contraceptives, "don't say gay" laws, prohibiting gay marriage, and now banning discussions on "gateway sexual activities," the only laws that the Tea Baggers seem interested in passing are those dealing with sex. Talk about a bunch of sexually repressed old prudes! Maybe since they aren't getting any, they want to make sure no one else does either!

Brenda,you just broke the law. Anals off limits too. ;-)

Social conservatism boggles my mind. Why so much shame and disgust with the human body? Why the hell do they find sex an "inappropriate" subject? It is natural and healthy.

Sorry Michael M. 544519, sometimes you have to break the law to fix it. For awhile there we had men asking every time they wanted to show affection. May I hold your hand, may I touch you here, may I touch you there. Kinda takes all the fun out of spontaneity.

Fast forward 20 years - no one in TN is reproducing. They all die out. People from KY, NC, AL, MS, GA invade and repopulate the state.

And what about all those country music stars in Nashville? No more love songs.

Please tell me that the Republicans have proof that "just say no" worked under Nancy Regan!

The FECE's strike again! (Fundamental Evangelical Christian Extremists)

Hey how about we make one president? Just vote GOP. Conservative........not.

From the state that gave us the Scopes trial in the 1920s, now comes "gateway body parts." Mind-boggling. My first thought is to ask that the last intelligent person in the Tenn. Legislature please turn off the lights on your way out, but there's no indication there are anything but very dim bulbs there now. But that might be considered ridicule and name-calling and those are non-productive approaches. So I'll just say that in civilized countries, such as in Scandinavia, where they have age-appropriate, comprehensive sex ed. for kids, they have lower rates of teen pregnancies and STDs. I have a slogan for the GOP for this year: Onward, to the 19th century!

Well here we go again….. This religious disease gets worse by the day; they just love pushing laws that mess with everybody’s freedom. Well I have a cure for the disease, its called taxes. Since the religious types have chosen to enter the world of governance, the way I see it is they should pay taxes just like everybody else. Right now they have all that tax free money ready to dump into our political system. Its way passed time we the people take a large chunk of that money away for them. How much you want to bet that they’ll crawl back to their churches when heavy taxation starts cutting into their bottom line. After all religions these days are just business’s and they act just like any other business, If you don’t agree then just look at all the Republican politicians they’ve been buying with all that TAX FREE MONEY……Their all just political organizations, START TAXING THEM NOW !!!!!

Wait a minute, I thought the "red heads" didn't want the government to tell them what to do all the time. Maybe they just want the government to intrude into other peoples lives, other peoples bedrooms, it's not big government until it interferes with your life. It's okay, don't worry, next year when Tennessee has double the teenage birth rate and almost everybody under 22 has aids, they will realize that knowledge is way more important than the lack thereof. Just a second, wasn't Tennessee the place where they had the Scopes Monkey Trial in the '20s? Everybody remember the Paul Simon song, "still stupid after all these years"

The Right Wing Extremists are the American version of the Taliban.

They will not be happy until we are dragged back to the Victorian Age

<Does quick CROTCH GRAB for emphasis

It's not "big government" unless you limit what corporations can do. Basically the neo-con ideal is that corporations are 1st class citizens, everyone else is 2nd class because they have personal lives that can be intruded upon.

Vote for Ron Paul. It's not too late (some states, especially TX and CA, haven't had their primaries yet). If you refuse to vote for him, at least abstain from the Republican primaries and don't vote for Romney.

It's the new Victorian age in Tenn. No touching, no talking, no, no, no. Yeah, remember when they decided to start sex ed. in schools? Because teen preganancy was getting out of control? Remember? It's hard to believe how regressive, oppressive, and ignorant these "new" Tpubs are. I'd move my teens out of Tenn., so fast....................crazy people.

@!$%#ing hell How many time will we continue giving these religious nut Jobs a chance with there failed sex ed polices. Abstinence-only DOES NOT WORK. It didn't work in the 50s, it didn't work in the 60s, it didn't work By a long shot in the 70s, didn't work in the 80s, it didn't work in the 90s, didn't work in the 00s, and its not going to work in the 10s.

The problem is these ignorant nuts and they are ignorants nuts don't care what the facts are don't care what the reality is. They have Faith they believe it works. There told it works by other with "faith" they purposely ignore anything that show how @!$%#ing STUPID there being.

Again how many times are we going to continue leting the religious nuts push this madness. NOTHING NOT A THING will EVER stop Horny boys from @!$%#ing Horny girls. You can only limit the damage and the only way to do that is education not lies and denal.

Really people? did you all even read the article? It never said that talking about these things was against the law for teachers or parents. Evidently the bill is intended to keep teachers from condoning the behaviors. It said nothing about discontinuing a comprehensive sex ed class...I think the bill sounds strange, but it may be the person who wrote the articles spin on it. Just because they are from Tennessee, don't assume they are stupid.

I still have hopes that he can be presuaded to run as a third party candidate. I honestly believe there are enough Americans who can finally see what the DNC and RNC are, to upset (and hopefully end) the "Two-Party substitute for Democracy"...

mike-2130882 Then you must not have read the article yourself because it did mention talking about these things. Let me quote it for you.

Opponents, which include Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee and the state teachers' union, say that before they can begin fighting the new law, they have to be able to figure it out. They worry that discussion of sexual behavior could be interpreted as condoning it.

"The very ambiguous language in this bill certainly puts teachers in a very difficult situation" when it comes to knowing what to teach, said Jerry Winters, spokesman for the Tennessee Education Association.

Did you read the article? One wonders if your from Tennessee.

No, some people from TN are extremely stupid, those of us who are smart know that with an adequate abstinence only policy we have the 7th highest teen birth rate in the nation and with this new stricter abstinence only policy we will soon be able to claim that we are 1st in the nation and quite possibly be leading by so wide a margin that no other state could ever hope to catch us. It's time for us to start voting Democrats back into office, at least anyone who isn't a stupid social conservative.

Every time that abstinence has been tried as a policy it has failed, so I wonder what these legislators will do when this less in idiocy blows up in their face and the teen birth rate climbs even higher than it is. Have these people ever heard of hormones, or don't they believe that they exist because they waren't ever mention in Leviticus? Every time that I think that the GOP and Christian fundamentalism has reached a new low in partisan stupidity they dig even faster to prove me wrong.

The only hope for the kids of Tennessee is that they get their sex education from people on the Internet who live outside of the state because their teachers, parents and government have failed them.

I guess my question would be, is... exactly how stupid are the teens in Tennessee, that they need a teacher to tell them how to put on a condom...everyone I have ever bought had instructions, maybe they should start by teaching them to read...and with the current state of our education system, our school systems teaching sex-ed could lead to some pretty bizarre emergency room visits...

??Exactly how did you get your Penis stuck in a can-opener, didn't your teacher tell you not to stick your penis in a can-opener?? well yes, actually she did...but that just made me want to do it more...

Passed through the Senate 28-1, 20 repub. and 13 dems in the Tenn. senate. Looks like the dems are just as stupid as the repubs. Only 1 vote against. Tenn. House 99 members 65 repub. 34 dems.

vote was 68-23, so it is obvious some of dems voted for it also. Does not take a rocket scientist to see it took yes votes on both parties to reach these numbers.

But yet only one party being lambasted! go figure........hypocrites Great state of Tenn. home of the self proclaimed internet inventor and global warming? No wonder why they so screwed up.

Trouble is, if you didn't know how important it is to have condoms AND pills, you would ignore both.

Well gee Phea, even though we had both reached puberty, I was 11 and she was 7 months younger, we really didn't know that condoms were needed to prevent pregnancy since sex education wasn't taught at all in hopes it would stop kids from having sex. Thank goodness we got lucky, both literally and figuratively.

I see what you mean Badger, since all the Republicans voted for it and about half the Democrats voted for it then I should lambast both parties equally lest you accuse me of blaming one party more than the other right? Forget that whole part where I said we should vote for anyone who isn't a social conservative.

Keith Brackett

We can only assume all repubs voted for it. We don't know for sure, only if you could see the actual votes. I was just pointing out Dems had a yes say in this also. It is possible the 23 nay votes came from Repubs, highly unlikely but possible, we just don't know unless we had access to who voted which way.

@ badger

This is tennessee right? I didn't think you could get a sheep pregnant, with or without a condom??lol

...I assume you would be ok with a teacher explaining to your 10? year old daughter how to put on a condom during oral sex?? really, have we really gotten that far since I was in school??

Can I just hear1 person say that a parent should have a right to say what their child is or isn't taught about sex???...Now this is MSBNC, and I never expect to be fully informed, but from what I can gather...doesn't this bill give parents legal recourse, when Sex-Ed teachers cross the line of the approved curriculum...

Most parents don't take the time to sit down and eat dinner with their kids. why should we expect them to talk/teach their kids about sex ed.? or anything else? Can't teach what you don't know I guess.

I hate to say it, but I think it may be time for the north to cecede from the stupidy and self-rightousness of the south. I doubt that southerners would kick up much of a fuss this time, as they really are their own country now anyway. Ideology in the south has not changed much since the last civil war....and, until the old pharts of these southern states die out, I don't see many intelligent changes happening for their future.

Luckily between the internet, TV, and even the most primitive parents the teen birth rates are slowly on the downturn. This is not to say that these West Borough Baptist type people from this logicless area of this country are not doing harm. They need to be irradicated.

To Governor Haslam: The kids you're talking to, and about ... whom, when finished with college... will most likely (according to current statistics) NOT be able to find jobs for quite some time in this economy.

Under current fiscal policies and administration, they will inherit a 16 trillion dollar debt with almost no effective means of paying it off... However, one of the very few activities they will be able to afford to participate in will be sex.....

Much better that we don't effectively teach how to handle this activity responsibly.. that we just bury our heads in the sand and hope to god that if we just sit in the corner and cover our eyesthat the monster won't be able to get us.... Now, that's what I call 'fornicated up'.

There are some real problems in my home state of Tennessee right now - Couldn't we PLEASE focus on those??

Im not a big fan of an overreaching central government but this might be the time for the federal government or maybe the surrounding state governments to step in and tell Tennessee that they must educate their citizens. I know that many will cite the TEAparty's favorites line of "states rights", but stupid people can easily cross states lines and then another state is forced to clean up the economic and social mess that was created because Tennessee refused for various reasons to educate their citizens.

We have enough economic problems at the moment and we as a country cannot afford the disease and children that this short-sighted policy will undoubtedly create. Ignorance is something that cannot be tolerated in the 21st century.

So basically your saying the Democrats there are only half as dumb as the Republicans. So then 100% of the Republicans are stupid. Then we can spade or nuder 100% of the Republicans and it would fix at least 75% of the problem since only 50% of the Democrats are stupid there.

For a political group who tells the President and the Democrats that they do NOT want them in their personal lives by, oh say; making sure they have health care and suggesting that they eat healthy to prevent any weight related diseases, they sure like to get into people's personal lives by, oh say, telling them who they can't have sex with, what a woman can and can't do with her body and oh, what you can and can't teach your children about sex. I had sex ed in the 5th grade. We had to get a permission slipped signed by our parents. If their are parents who do not want their kids learning about all the things they as parents are too damn afraid to teach their kids themselves, then by all means, take your child out and let them become ignorant and repressed. Now in high school, it was required to take sex ed, no parent permission slip needed because it was felt to be important at that stage. I'm just truly tired of the hypocrisy in the republican party and conservatives alike who b*ch and moan about the government getting into people's lives and then actually creating bills and laws to GET INTO PEOPLES PRIVATE LIVES. There are just so many things wrong with the republican party, I truly do not know where to begin...

stevef00

I hate to say it, but I think it may be time for the north to cecede from the stupidy and self-rightousness of the south. I doubt that southerners would kick up much of a fuss this time, as they really are their own country now anyway. Ideology in the south has not changed much since the last civil war....and, until the old pharts of these southern states die out, I don't see many intelligent changes happening for their future.

Really? Are you that devoid of content? Take a good look. It seems you have a rectal-cranial infarction.

I guess this means all reruns of Elvis Movies and copies of "This is it" from Micahel Jackson will soon be pulled and burned at the stake in the town square.

Its an old, old story. Lenny Bruce said it this way, "Democrats want the government in the boardroom, but out of the bedroom. Republicans want the government in your bedroom, but out of the boardroom." Thinking that teenagers wont try sex, if you don't mention the topic, is like thinking that starving people wont think about food, if you don't mention it. Case in point, Sarah Palin told her kids, "Just say 'NO!!', to sex!". How'd that work out, Republicans?

What a bunch of dolts! Wrong so many times, on so many issues! But, the "Dittoheads" never seem to learn

Well, when this doesn't work, they'll probably take the extremist route and make girls wear burkas and public floggings for any girl who even looks at a boy.

Abstinence can be a wonderful thing, if the children learn to respect and value themselves over the herd (everybody is doing it) mentality. Sex is a natural process and they should know that it's important to value it like a fine wine - wait long enough to uncork it and it can be brilliant. Of course, hormones and peer pressure will make them want to take the alcoholic route and crave it, but there are other outlets which they are now not allowed to even be spoken to about.

In the end, it isn't the school's responsibility to explain the birds and the bees. It's a difficult discussion for some parents to have - especially parents who became such as teenagers. But it's something they need to step up to and take responsibility for if they want to break the cycle.

And I think most kids have dreams of what they want to do with their lives, so one angle of approach is to make them understand that all those dreams can be destroyed in a matter of seconds. Pursue the dreams first, pursue the family second (unless, of course, having a family is what they both want).

Hard to figure what to even say here.

Pure ignorance.

And you want to push decision making back to the states? Because they know best? Have you even looked at some of the crap they're passing?

Here's my vote: Eliminate state governments, consolidate at the federal level, then fix the feds.

People in Tennessee have a long tradition of keeping all sexual activity strictly within the family !

ConwayTwitter.....yes, really. Sorry you think that is devoid of content, but that's too bad. I live in the south (and, I'm assuming by your moniker that you do as well), and many (many) of the ideas that eminate from the religious mindset of the people down there needs to be overruled. They are antiquated and don't fit the needs of the 21st century....sorry you don't like it, but frankly, I don't really care what you think.

If people would only remember the "good old days"when schools did not have Sex Ed, children "learned" the hard way: by getting pregnant, getting molested by an "uncle" or just plain by accident experimenting with each other or getting the latest edition of grandpa's "Playboy"magazine.

I hear stories about how girls got horrified after having their first period because NOBODY TOOK THE TIME TO EXPLAIN TO THEM about that.

Please don't expect parents to talk to their children about sex. They are too awkward to do so, because they belong to the generation of people that was thought that SEX was BAD AND DIRTY. HOW ARE THEY GOING TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN TO BE "BAD AND DIRTY"AS WELL?

People in Tennessee have a long tradition of keeping all sexual activity strictly within the family !

Yes! they have sex with each other, because the church would punish them if the find out that they have been discussing the subject with someone else.

If school district employees are found guilty of breaking this law then WHY would they be exempt from prosecution? Seems to me like it's skirting the issues.

Look at him .I don't think he ever had sex and if he did it was not a good experiance

These teatard Republicans tell us how much they just love the constitution and how those nasty liberals are taking our rights away. Yet they just can't seem to pass enough lawn limiting freedom of speech and making it harder for people to vote.

Willl this be enforced by the committee to promote virtue and discourage vice?

I was just listening to a story on BBC about a Saudi Minister who was dismissed by the King after years of making determinations such as this . . .

. . . . an Unrelated Man and Woman will be permitted to be together in public so long as the Man drinks the Woman's Breast Milk. Then he will be as her son!

Religion and Sex ... a truly weird combination!!!

Thirty states received federal funding for abstinence-only sex education programs in 2010, including 14 of the 16 southern states.

It seems this is just to prevent teachers from going overboard. For example, an educator in Texas spoke to a group of young girls (under the age of 12) and told the young girls how to administer blow jobs. Since the girls were so young they had no clue to what the educator was saying. I believe another teacher who was in the room reported this educator. It made the news in Texas. Can't remember what happened to the educator but I think she resigned.

We as a society are making young kids grow up too fast. It's not right. Let them be kids.

Jo-Annn anecdotes I heard about a case where someone made up an anecdote for the internet and when it was discovered had alll their body hair removed with burning wax!

...I assume you would be ok with a teacher explaining to your 10? year old daughter how to put on a condom during oral sex?? really, have we really gotten that far since I was in school??

You need to understand that schools have a curriculum and regulations about how to teach Sex Ed. Please inform yourself. You can even preview the materials BEFORE the classes start.

ALL States have strict standards and regulations. Teachers need to be very careful about what they teach and what they do not teach. I do not think that teaching how to put a condom is part of the curriculum. Relax.

Fundamentalistic Christian version of sharia law.

In 20 yrs, Tennessee will be the main source of all sex trade employees like prostitutes, strippers, etc., and also the source of many sexually maladjusted people.

I used to think it was just a punchline. But you folks in the South really are a bunch of in-bred retards.

Wow, Darrel, what a truly intelligent and classy comment!

spider....

didn't we see Darrel on a tv show with his brothers darrel and darrel LOL and they were from new england

For the record, I'm from Tennessee and I'm not a retard, nor am I an inbreed. I taught my own children about sex. And for those of you who are so bigoted against anyone southern, NO I did not teach by showing!! You people are gross and disgusting with your filthy minds. The things you are saying against southerners are vile and untrue and you should have the sense to know it. If you don't, then I pity YOUR children. They're destined to grow up to be a bunch of backward thinking bigots! Get a clue. . . If the school isn't allowed to teach sex education, that IS getting the government out of peoples' lives, since the school is a government run institution. I grew up in Arkansas, moved to Tennessee a few years ago. I look at all of the supposedly intelligent posts from people who are presumably from the north and thank God for my southern education. By the way, none of my children have become parents before they were married. And yes, I do think that's the proper order of things. I also think that we are more than just another animal and engaging in sexual activity outside of marriage can potentially harm the whole person . . . body, mind and soul. It's best to be harmony with the One who created the universe and to live within His laws. And making it plain to parents that these things will no longer be taught is school also lets them know that THEY have the responsiblity to teach their children. Who in this country loves their children so little that they would trust the government to teach them something so important? Lazy people, to assume that the school should do all the work of raising their children. Maybe people who think it's the school's responsibility to teach their children are the ones who should be spayed or neutered. But probably, they just need reconditioning to teach them to take some responsibility for themselves and not expect government to do everything for them!

I am outraged that Planned Parenthood would endorse anal sex as a pregnancy prevention method...everyone knows that this is how lawyers and politicians are made.

By the time most hit puberty they'll be too PHAT to find the "gateway" so certainly no need to legislate.

@ SPARTAN-501- While I applaud your ability to see the ignorance of this law, you are way off base when you say that Ron Paul is the answer. This is exactly the kind of ignorance that Paul's brand of "libertarianism" and "state's rights" BS promotes. In his political philosophy it is perfectly fine for states to pass these kinds of regressive and down right unconstitutional laws because they have the right to do so.

"Oh," many might ask, "how is a law like this unconstitutional?" Because there is no scientific nor logical basis for it. No studies that show it is beneficial to anyone. It is based purely on religious belief. If anyone doesn't believe that, then give me a reason that doesn't start with "God".

But back to RP. Before you vote for a man like Paul, please take a moment or two to educate yourself regarding what he really believes in. Here are a couple of for instances. It is the right of the state to set school curriculum. So if your state decides to teach only Creationism RP says that's OK. If your state decides to restrict access to birth control because they think it is against the bible, bla bla bla, then that's OK too. Because it is their right. And because America is free, if you don't like it you can move to another state.

I am not making these things up. This is truly his vision for America; fifty states, each at the mercy of whatever pack of uber right wing extremists happen to be in office. And as we see, those people have the full faith of the "church" behind them and the their checkbooks as well. A reasonable candidate will not be able to afford to campaign on logic and truth.

There is a pretty good summation of RP on Wiki, with well documented references to back up the assertions. It covers education, the right to privacy concerning what goes on in your bedroom (he ain't for it) and birth control. Not to mention his idiocy on many other social and civil issues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ron_Paul

Sex is dirty ... only to be used for procreation. In other news, it is now 1953 and June Cleaver will be fixing lunch for Wally and the Beav.

LMarcT

Hard to figure what to even say here.

Pure ignorance.

And you want to push decision making back to the states? Because they know best? Have you even looked at some of the crap they're passing? Here's my vote: Eliminate state governments, consolidate at the federal level, then fix the feds.

So, you want to eliminate state governments, make the federal government the only government body in the land and THEN fix the federal government? I'd say that, even if eliminating state governments were a viable option, that waiting until all the power is consolidated at the fed level and then trying to "fix what's wrong with the fed gov't" is the dumbest idea I've ever heard. You have it exactly backwards. We would need to fix the fed's problems FIRST.

I'm assuming that you are an Obama supporter. Most of them think as backasswards as you do.

The sexual revolution, complete with in your face sex "education", has done a lot for society since it was introduced by "progressives" in the late sixties. Let's see, it's given us an STD epidemic, AIDS, and, best of all, millions of illegitimate little bastards that we get to support with our tax dollars.....wow!

Apparently my fellow Liberal brothers and sisters haven't had many conversations with conservative religious followers lately - the push by those brainwashed religious followers is to expand the flock at any cost, it boils down to a numbers game, if the Muslims out produce them then they will be out numbers when the final conflict arrives. Yes it sounds like a stupid philosophy - but consider the source(s).

My son converted to Mormonism for a short time (I think it's the only source of virgins left), they push increasing the population, big time. My son told me the human race needed to grow - I told him here in Arizona, the teens are reproducing like rabbits - they just weren't the color of rabbits the Mormon church wants. Thankfully not long after they married, he converted her and they gave up being religious all together.

This law is definitely backed by churches and the blatant manipulation by politicians to appeal to voters. If there is a shred of intelligence in the youth in Tennessee - this should backfire on these politicians and cause these kids to become liberals when they grow up. The problem is, the guilt and manipulation that goes with religions, causes the stupid to follow the ignorance of their parents.

In my family (myself and two brothers, and their families), the score is; two babies born to unwed teens on the Conservative side and one baby born to my son, the liberal, 3 years after marriage.

Next up: burqas and honor killings.

Hooray for the Christian Taliban!

spider - 737231, read before you post. STD's where around way before the 60's. Aids was not created in the United states, but brought here. Try to read up on what you plan to post before you make a fool of yourself.

"In my day, birth control was a woman keeping an aspirin between her knees." - 80 year old white guy who will probably die in 30 minutes but for some reason has decision making power

And in my southern family, taught about sex at home by their parents (and no, not by molesting or showing as some of these self-righteous northerners would suggest) the score is 0 children born to my two sons who are still single and one child born to my daughter two years after marriage. What's your point? And yes, we are also a Christian family. We tend to mind our own business and avoid putting other people down to make us feel better about ourselves because we view all people as God's creation. I wish some of the people posting on this thread had more of a true Christian view. It would make the world a better place.

"Oh," many might ask, "how is a law like this unconstitutional?" Because there is no scientific nor logical basis for it. No studies that show it is beneficial to anyone. It is based purely on religious belief. If anyone doesn't believe that, then give me a reason that doesn't start with "God". ~ Kathy Stuart

This is absolute nonsense. There is no obligation in the Constitution that laws be "scientific" or "logical" to be valid laws.

Addtionally, there is a logic to teaching abstinence to kids...you just don't agree with the idea so you refuse to recognize it. Teaching kids that sex is not recreation and that it has a specific purpose is logical; sex is not entertainment children should be engaging in doing. We don't need our educational establishment condoning underage sex by teaching kids the "how's" and "how not's" of sex so they can "enjoy it safely". That sends the exactly wrong message. Kids need to have clear-headed adults teaching them that sex isn't like playing video games on an xbox...that the consequences of their "entertainment" can change/ruin their lives...or at least ruin their potential. Teenagers do NOT have the mental maturity to understand the effects pregnancies can have on their abilities to be all they could have been if they didn't have a kid at 13.

We need to be sending the message to our young people that sex, for them, is not a game, or entertainment or their "right". If we were truly worried about doing what is best for them, we would not be sending them the message to "just be safe"...we would be telling them to wait until they are old enough that it won't RUIN their lives or their potential for being all they could be.

It is your position that is illogical...it is illogical to expect teenagers to be responsible.

All freedom loving, women, young american voters, black, hispanics and every citizen of foreign descent and elderlys person really need to just sit back and watch these terrorists work on dismantling the social network and voicing their intentions should they take power and take them seriously and just watch before they cast their votes in November. The republican party needs to clean up their acts and clean up their house and should lose every seat in every house until they do this. The afghanis didn't listen and let their taliban terrorists take control of their government before they decided to act and here it is 11 years later and they are still fighting to keep them out of power and rely on other nations for help as they waited to long to react to the terrorists there. Don't let it happen here. Christians need to distance themselves from these american talibanese sects the very same way the muslims need to distance themselves from the terrorists in their religion.

My take on this is that the Tennessee Republicans are infested with pedophiles, homosexuals, and perverts such as Craig and Foley, just a couple of their more notable authors of such perverted trash legislation. And this sort of leadership is exactly why Tennessee always has crap football teams these days. Tennessee and Vanderbilt are the sick puppies of the SEC. Maybe if they outlawed other teams scoring on them, the Vols and Commadores would have a good season. Maybe they couple pass legislation that required all Tennessee teams to win. Stupid, stupid people. (BTW I was born and raised on Knoxville.)

Brenda -

From the vote in both houses of the legeslature it appears to be bi-partisan, not along party lines.

"The bill sailed through the legislative session, passing the Senate 28-1 and the House 68-23."

J.R.....while I agree with you in theory, it is not practical in it's application. You can't tell a kid with raging hormones that abstinence is the answer, in much the same way that you can't tell a kid that eating at McDonalds every day is going to make them fat and unhealthy. They will do neither, because that is what kids do. Education is the only answer....and to suppress that at any level is not an intelligent response. Because of interactive media, instant knowledge, and overly progressive television shows, kids nowadays are bombarded with sexual inuendo all over the place. Recognizing this and not burying your head in the sand is the optimal solution. These people want us all to be ostriches....

A problem I encountered was how people value relationships. My ex wife had several boy friends before me, so breaking up was no big deal to her. I had basically no relationships (except with my basketball) before I met her - so to me a relationship was special and treasured.

So having sex at a young age, in my opinion, kind of ruins it for those people later in life.

In my brain I was the horny agnostic and my ex wife's background was that she was raised a Christian, but by having all those relationship that she did at a young age - it was she that had the more immoral attitude toward our marriage. Where was Dr. Phil when I needed him?

When we were going through divorce - the ex tried to claim she couldn't be with me because I wasn't a Christian... hey, wait a minute - she was the one who cheated. That was the first time she had ever mentioned my lack of religion as being a problem. Looking back - I'm glad she cheated, I looked like the good guy and had a much better life without her. Not all immoral deception has a bad ending :)

For me, not acting on the horniness of my youth served me well, and I didn't even need anyone from Tennessee to tell me what to do.

Reminds me of why so few murders are solved in Tennessee: There are no dental records and the DNA is all the same.

Yep, yep...abstinance only sex education works so well! Just ask Bristol Palin how well that works.

Ya Betcha!

Brenda; spider is a troll, he gets his jollies from being the class ass - put him on ignore, you will never get him to see the light of logic. But he is an easy whipping boy - so if you like an easy target, keep him around just for the hell of it. He hasn't killed any of us yet, so I think he's neutered, just throw him a Scooby Snack and he'll stay on the porch.

These morons (and the others like them) are living proof of the truism, "you can't fix stupid"

Because preaching abstinence has always worked so well, not. According to the Constitution we have separation of church and state so why to I have to obey the teachings of the extreme Christian churches. If your religion says that this is the only way then it's the teachings of your religion not mine and I refuse to bow to it. Keep your Christian taliban out of our schools and our lives.

Typical small minded liberal regressive thinking. They are of the opinion that if this stuff isn't taught and demonstrated in schools, some catastrophe is sure to occur.
I suppose they are somewhat astounded about how we all survived back in the day when this stuff wasn't on the curriculum. This drive to include classes and graphic imagery and demonstrations are for the purpose of encouraging sexual behavior and directed at towards younger and younger age.

When one considers today the epidemic of sheer numbers of teens finding themselves pregnant and the number of children born to single parents, their agenda must be very different than the one they always say.

This is just the kind of story that I hope will bring Republicans and Democrats to gether for at least a discussion on who is running our government, whether local/state or federal..they go way beyond our ideology..at the very least we the people should asll agree that we need to take back control and set our standards..we are the american people FIRST!! And we have to put aside our differences for a minute just for the sake or restoring sanity in our RIN AWAY GOVT...I hope we can all agree on this at the very least..its our boat and they are rowing us off the niagra falls..we face our issues, not run and hide from them..how will they ever be addressed if we sweep it under the rug.

Fast forward 20 years - no one in TN is reproducing. They all die out. People from KY, NC, AL, MS, GA invade and repopulate the state.

I'd say it's far more likely that in 20 years, Tennessee will have an even higher rate of teen pregnancy and STDs than it has now. Sex will never go out of style.

We need to be sending the message to our young people that sex, for them, is not a game, or entertainment or their "right". If we were truly worried about doing what is best for them, we would not be sending them the message to "just be safe"...we would be telling them to wait until they are old enough that it won't RUIN their lives or their potential for being all they could be.

True, in theory. But in reality kids are bombarded with sexual messages 24/7...in music, fashion, TV, movies, billboards, books. Everywhere you look, someone is using sexual innuendo to sell you something. Kids in elementary school know more about sex than I knew in high school. They can't wait to try it. We would need to dramatically overhaul our hedonistic, entertainment-centered culture to stop the assault of inappropriate sexual material on our young kids.

The ads in fashion magazines and billboards now are more explicit than an old Playboy centerfold.

It's all about money. Sex sells, and we are worshippers of the Almighty Dollar first and foremost.

Putting all that sexual imagery in front of kids and then telling them to 'just say no', or refusing to educate them is a recipe for certain disaster.

one good thing i think the new legislation has accomplished:

it has millions of people who wouldn't have been thinking about the touching of gateway body parts, now thinking about those gateway body parts...and that's the gateway for touching them.

Teen birth rates by state take a look http://statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=37&cat=2 do you think they care about the facts.

In the link I posted above the birth rates of teens in red states are shown to be double that of blue states. In blue states kids get comprehensive sex edjucation in red states not so much. In Massachusetts the rate of teen births is 17.1 per 1000 teens, In Tennessee the rate is 43.2 per 1000.

Kissing and hugging are "gateway sexual activity"? Get this nutjob outta power, he makes all conservatives look bad.

Also, I'm not thrilled about the whole abstinence-only deal. It's population-control pure and simple. Which btw, we DON'T NEED since American white population is actually off the 2.3 average down to 1. That means for every couple of two, we produce only one child on average, if we have ANY. We need to teach children to have children, not try to get them not to.

Wing nuts that's the real problem some to conservative some to liberal, its hard for someone to live a normal well structured life when we are caught in the middle between two waring extremist factions. it would be nice if you could send your child to school and they learn about the reproductive system and how it works without them being instructed on oral and annal sex, it would be better to teach that there are serious consequence's to ones choice and action (unwanted babies, HIV, syphilis, ghoneria even cancer down the road) the truth is uncontrolled sex is dangerous, it can ruin your life and your health. on the other hand its fun. well every one needs to weigh it out for themselves and make their own educated decision on whether or not you want your children to be taught the left side, the right side or the middle. if you are a real parent and a loving parent this should not be a problem because real parents take the issue on at home where it belongs, a real parent raises their children to know enough to avoid the left and right extremist and to think for themselves, to weigh out the consequence's of their decisions and try to make a educated choice. extremist know all they have to do is plant a seed and it will grow. and the rest of society gets invaded from both ends then we have social collapse, I wish all the nuts on both ends would just crawl back under your rocks and leave the rest of us alone. the left is just as sick as the right. your both wrong.

... a real parent raises their children to know enough to avoid the left and right extremist and to think for themselves, to weigh out the consequence's of their decisions and try to make a educated choice.

Again, good in theory, but in practice kids at a party or the back seat of a car are not weighing consequences. Unprotected sex tends to happen on the spur of the moment, given the hormonal imperatives.

Isn't it better to clearly lay out the negative effects of non-monogamous and underage sexual activity, but then prepare kids for poor decision-making by arming them with protection?

Something else that needs to be considered is that girls no longer have the power to say "no". Our teens are so promiscuous that a girl who refuses a boy is driving him straight into the arms of the next girl, who will say 'yes'. The value of virginity has been grossly deflated.

I wouldn't be quick to blame repubs on this one. Is there really on one dem in the Senate and 23 dems in the House?

Of course, teaching abstinence should save a lot money on teachers. First day of class the teacher stands up and says "you've probably heard about something called sex, well just say no! Don't do it. Abstain from it." Shouldn't cost too much for the schools.

I guess the same can be said about creationism too. "All the science you need to know is that God created the universe."

Sex sex sex. In the last week, sex has been the main media story with Obama's support of gay marriage, NC's dislike of it, and now this. America is facing huge problems, including a dying environment, corporations gaming all of us, both political parties bribed off by the corporations, lots of violence, crumbling infrastructure, unemployment. But Tennessee's politicians are focused on teenage sex. I think they didn't get enough, or any, when they were young, so they're hoping to stop other kids from enjoying it now. Either way, they are the American Taliban, and they are sick!

I think this a Karl Rove plot to re-populate the country with little Republicans.

Isn't this the same cracker legislature that some years ago didn't want to support foreign language studies in the schools because ' If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it ought to be good enough for our kids!'?

Of course, teaching abstinence should save a lot money on teachers. First day of class the teacher stands up and says "you've probably heard about something called sex, well just say no! Don't do it. Abstain from it." Shouldn't cost too much for the schools. I guess the same can be said about creationism too. "All the science you need to know is that God created the universe."

Right. We will all abstain from sex in the future, thanks to such brilliant advice. Maybe you could also do away with eating and sleeping.

Please go back under your rock and allow freedom of thought to exist in the U.S. Attitudes like yours are the reason this country is on a precipitous downward slide.

kaybeetoys I think the person your refering to was being sarcastic and actually believes the opposite of what he was writing. Read it carefully and you will see what they were saying.

Fowler also pointed to a Planned Parenthood-organized program at a school in Knoxville, where students were directed to a web site "that actually lists as possible methods of birth control things like oral sex and anal sex play that I think most Tennesseans would find inappropriate."

Tennesseans must have very boring sex lives.

A problem I encountered was how people value relationships. My ex wife had several boy friends before me, so breaking up was no big deal to her. I had basically no relationships (except with my basketball) before I met her - so to me a relationship was special and treasured. ... So having sex at a young age, in my opinion, kind of ruins it for those people later in life.

Drainbramage, did you consider that if you had more experience in relationships (and I'm not talking just about sex here), perhaps you might have realized that you two weren't ultimately compatible? That's the whole point of dating ... to learn about yourself and what you want and need in a relationship, and to find someone who can provide (and vice versa).

This is the dumbest thing that I have ever heard. The South just continues to go backward. It is embarrassing. What is going to happen - are they going to form a Genital Police Network and go on patrol to make sure no one is touching a pee pee or a whoo whoo. The North needs to succeed from the South this time.

I would have to say thanks for Badger1 responding about how the votes went as I checked the breakdown to see and yes Democrats would have voted to get the results the article shows. The thing that the article doesn't show is the breakdown of who voted and immediately from almost no information we have the ill informed already blaming one party and not both. Maybe we should check to see if religion might have had an influence on the vote as if this is check you will notice that approximately 39% of the population is Baptist and the next closest is the Methodist population at 10%. I would have to say that religion could have been a controlling factor and not which political party you belong to.

stevef00

My moniker has nothing to do with where I live. If you had tried to figure it out before once again posting unimportant gibberish, you would be able to tell it is a play on words/names. Jeez...You know someone named Conway TWITTER???? Never heard of the social media TWITTER? No? Really,my moniker is not rocket science.

My mother is from New Jersey. My father from New York. I'm from Florida. That doesn't make me a "southerner". I am not them; they are not me, and a location does not make a person!
I still think you need to get your head out of your crack and know that the whole world isn't about your stereotypical garbage.
Don't like my opinion. I could care less! Have a great day, if you truly ever get to see the sunlight.

Man, these people are just doubling down on the Stone Age. Nothing good can come from a philosophy of "don't teach teenagers vital information in school."

Mr. Phoenques... in our state and I would guess most others, parents have the absolute right to sign a form keeping their children from the sex ed classes. That is how it should be, but SO many parents would rather the school teach it rather than sit down with their kid and do it themselves.

This law is SO ridiculous. Reps are ALL over it when you start talking small govt, but yet they always seem to want to get into our bedrooms... go figure. I think they are all closet cases in my book.

kaybeetoys I think the person your refering to was being sarcastic and actually believes the opposite of what he was writing. Read it carefully and you will see what they were saying.

I'd like to believe that, brenda, but based on other posts I've read by that person I'm not so sure.

witchrunner, would you care to respond?

stevef00

J.R.....while I agree with you in theory, it is not practical in it's application. You can't tell a kid with raging hormones that abstinence is the answer, in much the same way that you can't tell a kid that eating at McDonalds every day is going to make them fat and unhealthy. They will do neither, because that is what kids do. Education is the only answer....and to suppress that at any level is not an intelligent response. Because of interactive media, instant knowledge, and overly progressive television shows, kids nowadays are bombarded with sexual inuendo all over the place. Recognizing this and not burying your head in the sand is the optimal solution. These people want us all to be ostriches....

The "optimal solution" is to educate children to be moral and have character...not throw our collective hands up in the air, whine about how we just can't get kids to listen to us and throw condoms at them with a "here, fine..take it and go away" attitude.

The problem is not sex...the problem is that we do no instill values of morality in our children and, thus, in our society. Why we are different than "animals" is that we are sentient...by caving in and telling kids to just roll with the hormones is abdicating what separates us (humanity) from the rest of the primate world. We know better, we can BE better and we could be better...it just takes the will and effort to do so.

@Robert Smith, I'm sure you were trying to be funny, but the thing about this new sex ed "law", is that kids will now grow up thinking that their bodies are disgusting and unnatural and something to be ashamed of, hidden away, never spoken about. They'll think that being naked is "dirty". I would NOT be surprised if some of these children have uptight PRUDES for parents who punish them for mastubation...oops, I mean "touching genitals". UGH.

This is how shame complexes and sexual hangups begin! This is how sexual repression begins! This is how sexual hangups begin! This is how sexual guilt begins! This is how UNhealthy relationships with sex begin! THIS IS HOW PASSING IT ON TO FUTURE GENERATIONS BEGINS!!!!!!

And not only that, but the more you try and take away learning about sex, the more they're going to want to know about it...and they'll try and find out from the most unreliable sources, like their friends. Not only that, but they'll probably start experimenting and having sex, just to figure out how, and what's what, and how it works. There will be a LOT more STIs/STDs, pregnancies.....the people of Tennessee are absolutely BACKWARD and STUPID if they think this will work.

Shame on them.

brenda & kaybee: Brenda has it right. The article made clear that the Tenn. law says that teachers are to teach abstinence. What is abstinence? Answer: Don't do it! With all the money that the governments have been throwing around, including the Bush era "abstinence" education programs, I've wondered why a dime is spent on them. I think my post covered the entire education program, so why spend any money there? Why would any funds need to be expended? Same deal with the Texas educational program, if I'm correct and they began mandating the teaching of "creationism." Did I miss anything in my post regarding the educational program of creationism? If that's what is mandated, then it shouldn't cost the schools any money to teach it.

I have no clue what "sex education" is today in schools. When I was in school it was part of the science program. Basically is was part biology, part chemistry. The teachers taught how babies are made and all the changes the body goes through. As part of the discussion was the concept of "contraceptives." It wasn't even done in the context of "we know you're going to have sex, so use a condom." It was more or less a discussion of the science of it. As I recall, the teachers did say that the surest way to make sure you don't get pregnant or don't get someone else pregnant is to not have intercourse. They explained what seemed to be established at the time regarding the chances of getting pregnant or getting stds. Of course, the students were allowed to ask questions.

FACT: A study shows slightly more than half of Tennessee adults - 53 percent -
struggle with even the most basic reading skills.

We call that ILLITERACY

Tennesssee has an abysmal ranking in Math & Science...

We call that UNQUALIFIED FOR 21st C. JOBS

Apparently, the pre-occupation with other people's sexual morals is Tenessee's primary concern.

We call that: INTRUSIVE

I wonder how christianity managed to populate Europe without your help. It is not to teach abstinence for life but abstinence before marriage. To honor your partner male or female both coming to marriage as virgens. To hold yourself as a wedding gift for your spouse as he should for you. I managed to not have a child out of marriage and to have one during married life all without the help of Planned Parenthood. My mother talked to me. She was able not only to give the neccesary facts but also her value system too. In schools the problem is you are given one but not the other or maybe even it seems that the school condones a lifestyle your parents don't. Society acts as if our children are the property of the government.
The schools are reinforcing this attitude.

So you can't talk about those things in school? Better to learn them from the gutter? If they are told "NO" how long before they find out on their own?

wonder how christianity managed to populate Europe without your help

mostly through priests...

lonereb - It's nice that you had a parent that was doing their job and explaining the facts of life to you. However, can you imagine that there are more parents who don't teach this then there are that do? For this reason we have planned parenthood. I feel it is better to have the schools teach you sex education even if it's contrary to your parents beliefs then to have nothing at all from your parents or the schools.

Okay, I don't know how old most of you are, but let me tell you this, seeing as I've only been out of High school for 6 years. When We had Sex Education, THEY DO TEACH ABSTINENCE!!! Some of you people are letting your minds fly and thinking that schools tell your kids to have sex. THEY DO NOT! They stress the importance of Abstinence and tell you the only sure fire way to not get pregnant and to not contract STD'S is to NOT have sex. My health teacher, who was from Jamaica, and who was Christian, said "the best thing to do was to wait until marriage, but if you where going to ignore these precautions and decide to engage in sex, then here are ways to protect yourself!" She even went as far as showing us images of STD's to try and discourage students from sex. (and believe me, they were pretty gruesome). Sex Education is essential and realistic. I'm from Massachusetts, our teen pregnancy rate is pretty low compared to Tennessee. This is a non-issue for us, because number one, we recognize the importance of it and number 2 we recognize that not all students come from a Christian background or any other type of religious background, therefore we do not let others suffer for those reasons. If there were students from religious backgrounds, who's parents did undoubtedly disagree with Sex Ed, then the school made an exception and the child did not have to attend that portion of health class. It's all about compromise and balance and acknowledging ever student and families concerns and beliefs while still trying to do what is best for the student. Now needless to say, that kid who couldn't take the health class, still got updates form his buddy who was in the health class on what was taught because of curiosity and wanting to have an awareness of the dangers of sex, as well as the protective stance you can take to prevent/ minimize them. One of my friends who was a devout Christian, and was able to take the class, said the class only strengthened her resolve and choice not to engage in sex until marriage, plus she now knew how to have sex without getting pregnant, seeing as when she got married, she did not want a child straight away. Sex Education is not the enemy my friends. All teenagers are different, you as a parent have to decide for yourself what is best for you and yours.

and number 2 we recognize that not all students come from a Christian background or any other type of religious background, therefore we do not let others suffer for those reasons

well, according to those "wonderful christians" in tennessee, (and most of the south for that matter). "if you aren't a white christian, you aren't spit"

the only reason that they think non-christians exist is for them to convert by any means necessary

Ok - One more thing.. here's one we used to tell in my hometown, back in east Tennessee -

Q) Why don't Baptists approve of sex in a standing position?

A) Because it could lead to Dancing!

Share with your friends - lol

Yet another embarassing moment for those of us that live in the state of TN. Do you see what we are dealing with here? A governor who thinks he is Nancy Reagan and a legislature that ALL GREW UP HERE and make these ridiculous laws that shoot them in the foot...Actually, it is hurting the kids. There are so many things wrong with this that I don't even know where to start, but many of you have listed them, so I guess it would be repetitive. I WANT OUT OF THIS STATE...

So leave. I'm sure the state of Tennessee will somehow survive without you.

Exactly, like this kind of mentality is totally going to draw high tech and high wage businesses to Tennessee. Pull your heads out people.

I don't think they care since Nissan just broke ground on a Mercedes-Benz and Infinity engine plant.

THIS is a "low regulatory" environment?

Boy, head doctors listen up. You should get alot of business from sexually-repressed and depressed people down the road. Tennessee, you are coming across as mentally ill. Evangelicals are sick in the head. My votes won't be headed toward the teajerks in the future.

Michelle - What I found astounding is that only 30% of Americans have a passport - versus Europe with it's citizens having 60% of passports

I've rented houses in France and Italy - brought my children and grandchildren to these countries to enable them to see what other countries do

I am proud to say my children and grandchildren have a grasp of other countries' take on sexuality - health care - and social inequality

Americans - the Euro dollar is at it's lowest - don't go to Disney World - get on a goddamm plane and travel - eat the fresh foods - drink the great wines - talk to our European neighbors - and learn for god's sake

Great plan there, the way to less abortion is more teen pregnancy. Typical bible thumping, uneducated, conservative garbage coming from the tea party. Sometimes I wonder if anyone in the tea party has two brain cells to ping together.

Every time that abstinence has been tried as a policy it has failed,

You only need to look at Sarah Palin and her sons and daughters. Bristol Palin, her daughter, was pregnant before she married, and so did her two sons.

The GOP is nothing but a group of clowns that are finally getting the American people REALLY irritated and angry. They are loud mouths, and the do exactly the opposite of what they preach CONSTANTLY.

because Tennessee has the seventh-highest teen birth rate in the nation and the 11th-highest HIV infection rate in the nation.

And what will they do when they rise higher on those lists?

As a Missourian who has lived in East Tennessee for over 20 years, let me say that people blindly follow what their Southern Baptist preachers tell them too do. Tennessee used to be a very Democratic state, until the 60's when black people actually got freed, then they flocked to the Republican Party. (I wonder why racists are attracted to other racists?)

Pretty much anyone in local politics has ALWAYS held on too the notion that they were more special than the people they serve, and laws such as the Sunshine law are there for them too break by ignoring it and doing politics whenever they feel like it, not when it's convenient for their constituents. I'll crap my pants if I ever live to see a Democratic elected official anywhere in East Tennessee.

The Marxist that permeate today's left wing are out to create willing victims; which is why we see so much feigned outrage in the previous submittals. It is difficult to cultivate willing victims in the public school system when the ideology needed to do so is no longer permitted inside the walls of academia.

Did you socialist actually believe your intended victims would not eventually fight back?

What is it with the GOP/TP obsession with body orifices? Maybe if we all donated $1 to buy blow up dolls for the legislators, they would have a way to work out their frustrations.

@Barbara Europe is in the stages of collapse what is there that we can learn from them? the party is ending, why go to Europe to teach your children anything. the only lesson they will learn is that left wing socialist government doesn't work then have them look at the ME and teach them that right wing conservative government is oppressive and doesn't work. where does that leave you. there is a center where this country became great why don't we look at ourselves a little harder, why do we have to imitate others when they are all using us as their measuring stick, America created this form of Republic a democracy that the rest of the world embraced and attempted to model themselves after and they went to far to the left in some cases and to far to the right in other cases, get a grip we had it nearly right before the extremist started screwing it up. yes we almost had it. we came closer then anyone in history but we are screwing it up by trying to follow those that are following us.

RandyEK :

It isn't 'Marxist that permeante', it is 'Marxist thought' or 'Marxist ideology' for starters. [As in 'heiroglyphics': it is 'heiroglyphs' or 'heiroglyphic writing' - there is no such thing as 'heiroglyphics'].

As far as the rest of your post: ..... you may think you're nobody's fool right now, but who knows - maybe tomorrow someone will adopt you.

I had thought that, after outlawing Abortion, Equal Marriage, and forcing people to go to church, that the next thing on their Fundamentalist Reconstructionist Dominionist Adjenda was this very law of outlawing sex.

Just more proof that the Fundies want to turn the United States into a Theocracy. The Family Action Council of Tennessee should loose its Tax exempt status for being politically active.

The only way to stop the United States slide into far out teabagger Right Wing Fundamentalism is to vote in Democrats at all levels of Government, from Local City Council members to State legislatures to the Congress of the United States to The White House. Otherwise the Fundamentalist Reconstructionist Dominionist will win and the USA will fall backwards 300 or more years. Its laws like these that have Tennessee the laughing stock of the entire world. No wonder Tennessee is loosing business and tourist in droves!!!

Once again, as I close, its very funny these Republican'ts like Fuhrer Bill Haslam, they scream and throw fits demanding less government less regulation, yet, when it comes to matters like this stupid law, the Fundamentalist Reconstructionist Dominionist, the Republican'ts, the Teabaggers scream for total regulation, total control of the Bedroom and our lives.

Hypocrite in excess!!!

And thats my opinion.

It's a States Rights issue folks! In this subject Tennessee and California are on the opposite ends of the spectrum (especiallyif you're talking about Pelosi's district in Caif, yikes!). We can only hope Obama can keep from sticking his nose into this subject.... but that's unlikely!

Buck, Europe is "collapsing" because of austerity measures. The same measures, I should note, that the teabaggers want to bring to America.

Michelle - What I found astounding is that only 30% of Americans have a passport - versus Europe with it's citizens having 60% of passports

That's not an indicate of the relative sophistication of Americans vs. Europeans, but more a reflection of the need to travel outside one's passport-free zone. Americans can travel thousands of miles, to climates ranging from deserts and tropics to the almost the Arctic without a passport. That tremendous range of destinations isn't available to Europeans.

It's a States Rights issue folks!

So-called "states' rights" are bunk. They're nothing but an excuse for denying rights and information to one's own citizens.

jeff miller look at the states with higher job creation rates. Look at the states losing jobs. The jobs lost from states with higher taxes and unwieldy regulatory systems are moving out of those states and just where do you think they are going? They are going to the states with lower business taxes and less regulation. Before you know it half the jobs in California will be in Texas. We can raise our own children as we were raised. Serpentine we the christians of the world have nothing against sex just sex without morals. We can produce babies quite well and have been for centuries. We didn't need you to tell us how to procreate. My grandfather was one of 13 children and my grandmother was one of 11 children we know how to do it. We also know how to turn out families of 1 or 2 kids as my parents generation did. And all without the help of Planned Parenthood.

So bill t, are you saying that the red stupid states, which soak up so much federal money and produce so many incredibly stupid laws, should have rights beyond determining the Official State Vegetable?

Given the red stupid states anti-constitutional attempts to kill off free association, limit the right to vote, limit women's access to standard medical procedures, deny citizens equal protection under the laws, etc., etc., I am beginning to agree with the guy who said eliminate state governments.

And yes, the federal government needs reform, first reform being the elimination of the Electoral College, so the country actually does have a vote for president.

lonereb, yea, and people got married at age 14. Now people still say "wait till you're married but... oh gosh you can't get married until your 20's"

PP isn't to teach you about sex. Its about teaching people to have sex without having 13 babies.

As far as the rest of your post: ..... you may think you're nobody's fool right now, but who knows - maybe tomorrow someone will adopt you.

and if he's really lucky, someone will educate him...

By making people ignorant, they won't be able to think for themselves, hence the lack of choices wouldn't matter as much.

Rick Santorum is alot to blame for all this ridiculous banter in the press. I have a suspicion about him being mentally ill due to sexual repression. The repubs are making themselves look more backward and stupid by the day.

Alicia Kremer - Santorum is a disciple of Opus Dei - the right wing of the Catholic Church - he sent two of his sons to their school

Now look what the Catholic Church is doing to repress their nuns for doing charitable deeds and not going after contreception and social issues

We are being attacked by all of the male hierachy - are we so powerful as women that these men are so afraid?

Poor babies - what would you do without your Viagra? And the Catholic Church putting up a smoke screen for your pedophiles

Nice try little boys we've been here before and you lost - big time

In the US we women are 52% of the population - scares you?

Incredible. Incredibly stupid. But that's the South for you. I know. I live here.

Just one step closer to The Handmaid's Tale.

Barbara Adams Jackson Opus Dei is neither as secret, right wing or sexist as non Catholic conspiracy theorists like to make out. It is open to every Catholic who has made their confirmation at about 13 years old. Now the Monday after my confirmation the nuns handed everybody in my class a membership form. I will tell you this if you wanted to keep a secret those kids were not the people to tell about it. So with a worldwide membership in the Catholic church of around 1 billion that is not an exclusive club. The reason I didn't join is my mom didn't have the five dollar fee.

No conspiracy or exclusivity there. Any kid can join up, so long as they're not to poor to have the $5.

I recall studying up on them at the library, when I was a teenager. Back then, they were known as erogenous zones. We didn't have much more than drawings of the reproductive system, for sex education in school at the time. Still, I studied up on aspects of the subject on my own. For some reason it piqued my interest and considerable curiosity. Also, it was a subject about which one wished to seem to know when it came up up in a discussion with ones peers. Not much parental involvement back then either. I don't think the subject of sex was addressed until after they caught me on the sofa, with my uninhibited girlfriend.

I don't really think there is much the state can do to keep kids from learning about whatever they want to learn about. The restraints put upon teachers will really only accomplish reducing knowledge about contraceptive measures, and reducing access to contraceptives as well, I'm sure.

Absolutly right Jamie. Isn't this why so many left England? Religious control and keeping the people ignorant to common sense. Sex is the second most powerful feeling next to eating and breathing. You can't control it forever. Just ask our Preists and Nuns. Our only hope is to shrink the size of gov't and that starts with Ron Paul. If you really don't know what he stands for please educate yourself on his love for liberty and personal responsibility.

Right, because parents can't talk to their kids if teachers do? Children are too confused to reconcile two points of view (even if those two points might be the same). Wow, you don't give kids much credit.

Leave the morality issues to the Parents and allow the parents to be Parents.

Because that has worked out so well in the past for Tennessee.

....Tennessee has the seventh-highest teen birth rate in the nation and the 11th-highest HIV infection rate in the nation.

I have a better idea. Why don't they start teaching everything again, and stop worrying about teaching standardized tests?

I think the parents are just as stupid as the government. Teen birth is almost always the result of stupidity, and they think it's a good idea to simply tell them not to have sex.

No jobs, no insurance so NO SEX! Who wouldn't be sold on this economic strategy for the nation come November!!! WOW!

This is in no way intended to be derrogatory towards responsible parents. That being said, too many parents have become either too lazy or unavailable to tend to the needs of their children outside of the obvious food and shelter thus ushering in the everpresent invasion of government. Many parents today fail to even ask if their children have homework much less help them with it. Heck they even need government to tell them what is an acceptable means of discipline. Granted some of this behavior is a direct result of most families consisting of two working parents that have liimited time and energy to address such issues. Although I have no solution for economic slump in the US, I will suggest that parents be parents and involve themselves actively in the up-bringing and education of their children.

Excuse me, but the reason why schools took it upon themselves to start teaching sex education was because parents were not doing it themselves! My mother (as much as I love her) threw a book at me when I was 8 and said something on the lines of, "Here, read this, this is were babies come from." Most children don't even get that! I was a smart kid and had to look up and educate myself, with the help of my school system. Needless to say, I'm 24 years old and have yet to have an unwanted or unexpected child in my life, again, no real thanks to my mother and her "awesome" sex education skills. We both laugh about it now and she told me straight up after so many years that she was just scared to death of having the "talk" with me and my sister, that she just felt a book would do better and therefore her having to avoid actually talking to me about sex. Now, funny story, or not so funny, my best friend at the time who's parents did not allow her to take Sex Ed in the 5th grade nor did they want to talk to her about sex themselves, wound up getting pregnant at the age of 15 and dropped out of high school. No one is stopping parents from talking to their kids about sex, except for the parents themselves. Both the school and the parents can talk to a child about this topic. One does not over ride the other.

ihatestupidity

Because many parents don't actually discuss this stuff or discuss it "properly" (meaning discussing all the possibilities and how to navigate them). I'm very open about sex generally, but admit I've never found a good time to sit down with my kids and talk about it thoroughly. You really think letting abstinence-only parents "teach" will lead to a better society? The only information they will impart will be "don't do it". So I like the fact that the schools will actually go through the whole thing with them -- they will do a better job and the kids will have to sit and listen. In fact I would argue that talking to your parents about sex is creepy and unnatural generally.

It isn't uncommon for girls to get pregnant without even knowing exactly how pregnancy works, or to have their first period before really knowing what it's about.

If society doesn't want teenage pregnancy or AIDS, you need to tell kids how to navigate the situations with thorough discussion -- what if the cool guy tries to coerce you, what if you feel urges to throw caution to the wind, etc.

But the biggest issue I have is -- these zealots are trying to restrict information. Sex education is NEVER teaching kids to go ahead and have sex, it is simply describing anatomy and how babies are made, and helping kids prepare for the the possible scenarios and impacts.

I don't care if anyone teaches my kids anything -- I'm not afraid of information, and kids are smart enough to figure out what is right.

Abstinence-only is not just about removing freedom of people in the bedroom, but about even limiting free discussion of information. It is the most dangerous thing that can happen in a society.

Very true, JulianAB. And what is the reason for a lot of people who don't discuss these things with their kids? Because they've been taught, by the examples of others and by the church that started it all, that sex is to be avoided. Open discussion would contradict that need, and therefore open discussion becomes as shameful and uncomfortable, and ignorance is propagated. Just another way organized religion has poisoned humanity.

what you want teachers in this country to teach world history so silly people on these vines don't say idiotic things like the current Pope was responsible for the inquisition. FYI that would make Pope Benedict the current one at least 500 years old now that would be a miracle. The funniest thing on these vines is when Americans try to use history to prove a point and only prove how bad our education system is. You cannot blame working as the reason my mother worked in a factory she always knew if I hsd homework and if it was done. She attended PTA for both my cousin and I because his parents couldn't go and called her brother as soon as she got home. We went to church as a family she explained anything I asked and her mother and younger brother were there to help before she got home. The family structure is what you are willing to make it. I worked but once I came home I was always available to my child that is called being a parent.

Stupid, most parents do not talk to their offspring concerning sex, what it means and what happens when you engage in sex. Teaching this is for the parents, most of them can't even raise their kids right let alone being a role model. Most are embarresed and I can't figure out why. This is RELIGION, RELIGION has no issue or rights with POLITICS. When the church wants to address this issue based on realism and not fantacism then they may have a "right" to voice their opinions but they do not have a right to "FORCE" others to follows theirs. I told my sons that sex is the end result of loving someone not abusing that someone. They were also informed, of course, of the results if they choose to sow their seeds if you will. Republicans need to get a grip. If the parents don't want to address what is so normal and prominent in our lives, teachers, who are responsible (or so we make them) for our children's future and you trust-have to be able to inform (teach) our children about sex.

Tennessee, trying to lower expectations of intelligent thought one law at a time

With this kind of backwards mentality just think of what they will do for the economy!!! Good grief!!

Right. Look how well that is working for Tennessee!

There are way too many people in charge of sex education that want to exploit our kids and that is a big part of why it fails so miserably!

Yes, there wouldn't be any STD's or teen pregnancies if people didn't have anything but monogamous sex after marriage. Also, there wouldn't be any crime if people didn't steal or kill. This law is like trying to prevent stealing by outlawing free giveaways. Because freebies are the gateway to larceny.

Perhaps the Tennessee legislature is unable to read the studies, for some reason.

On Thursday, State Rep. Jon Lundberg told NBC station WCYB-TV that a focus on abstinence is needed because Tennessee has the seventh-highest teen birth rate in the nation and the 11th-highest HIV infection rate in the nation.

obviously it isn't that they are already using abstinence only education its because they aren't using abstinence only education HARD enough... sounds pretty sexual actually... the logic of this is mind blowing...

So you say this does not happen anywhere else but the South? Look in your own back yard before you point the finger. Stacey Campfield who is responsible for a lot of these bills in TN came from Binghampton New York. I agree the law is stupid but you're blaming the victims here.

To all the idiot Demoscrats that think the Republicans are the reason behind this. Wake up stupid! The majority of the PEOPLE don't want it. But, I should understand Democrats love to find any reason they can to whine. Their nature. Just makes the point that most Democratic parents are the ones that don't explain the "Birds and the Bees" to their children.

jakrabt ---the point is that stacey campfield came form ny but moved to tenn to be an idiot. btw this about the stupidest law i've ever heard of, do you really think teenagers are going to obey this? this type of thinking worked well for prohibition didn't it?

I'd like to know where she grew up. Where did she go to school? What religious organizations does she affiliate herself with? Because that came from somewhere and all she did was FEED into his ideals. So trying to play the well she came from the north game just does not cut it.

I really do NOT understand the thinking of people like Gov Haslem. Teenagers are curious, they want to know why they feel the way that they do. It's biology, and all of the "just say no, abstinence only" crap in world is not going to keep them from trying to figure it out.

They need to get their heads out of the sand and get in the game. By the statistics of your state you need to be doing something pro active to save these young people. Their mental and physical health is on the line.

What I find very strange is that the Religious right continues on with their "crusade" for abstinence, , and muzzling teachers who have by default had to take over many of the duties normally carried out by the families of the 50s and 60s. This is because for a family to even survive today, both parents have to work to even pay the bills working two and three jobs, ,and simply do not interact with their teenage children as once was normal. Unfortunately, we have absolute proof it does not work!

A prime example is that of the Palin family,specifically Sarah and Bristol Palin. She was raised in a very religious Right Wing GOP family which taught her abstinence. Yet in her very first sexual experience, she ended up pregnant. Why? This is a massive failure, a perfect storm of combing every element claimed to be part of the solution: Religion, abstinence teaching, and apparently keeping daughters ignorant of how children are created, and what contraceptives are available to avoid such event. Bristol Palin completely nullifies the Religious Rights theory of preventing pregnancies. Obviously sexual ignorance is not a solution, nor is the teaching of abstinence, or combining abstinence with Religion, which is exactly what Sarah Palin used within her own family.

They are going to cause so many unwanted pregnancies. Look like they would learn when you tell a child no they will do it even more.

No, college is way too early.

They should have to graduate from Liberty University with at least a Master's degree in Sex for Celibates, completion of courses in Approved Gateway Venues, Intermediate and Advanced Touching, and Teletubby Defense Techniques, and must have a thorough, demonstrated understanding of the teachings of Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker, and Ted Haggard.

Sex in grade school is too early because it's barely possible. Sex in high school is fine if they're smart about it. The only time it's a good idea to have sex with no contraception whatsoever is when you're ready to have a kid.

If parents would do their effing job, this would be a mute point! Why is it someone elses responsibility to teach your children about sex? PUT DOWN THE DAMN CELL PHONES AND GIVE YOUR KIDS THE TIME OF DAY!

Do any of you realize that they have found children at the age of two and three by deficating feel a sexual connection?

Jeez - get a grip - kids in fourth grade feel sexual urges - fifth grade - working up - and girls and boys in sixth grade can have a climax - and I can attest to that

Bottom line , we are sexual human beings and pleasure is not a sin - only when you try to repress it!

.

Speechless, I see....

It is a bit much to take in, isn't it...

Barbara Adams Jackson..............Maybe that is because a lot of the kids in 6th grade in Tennessee are 16 years old !

Don't forget those outrageous hair styles and seductive clothing. Maybe we should require the burka to be worn by females under age 30 to protect their virginity.

I saw a nipple! A nipple I tell ya! A gateway bodypart! Even men have them! Disgusting! And coffee is a gateway drug to cola, which is a gateway drug to milk. "Obviously..."

It won't work. Burka's leave too much to the imagination. I just know it's all Victoria's Secret, under there. You'll just have to keep your women at home so they don't commit grievous sins, by inadvertently tempting me. Otherwise you'll have to beat them.

It is true that they've become extremely dangerous. They're not even afraid to be openly hypocritical. They complain about "big government" but you can't get bigger than a government that is controlling privacy, information availability, and freedom to choose your own life. Liberal "big government" is simply big in the terms of spending on social programs.

Abstinence-only is dangerous not just because it assumes to prevent private activities, but furthermore tries to restrict information. These guys actually want to censor books!

That mindset really has no place in America. It has to be called out. I wish every political opponent of there's called them out on it -- they are big government, censoring, freedom-restricting. They can't even deny it because they are actively trying to do all those things.

STOP encouraging people to make moral decisions for themselves, there's only one way to do it... the rest is blasphemy... there is no such thing as freedom of choice, where do you think you live?

Well TampaBay that sounds like a party to me!!

But can we leave the Republican outside the room and just have the Hos and MEth?

Count me in!

Kissing and hugging are the last stop before reaching Groin Central Station, so it's important to ban all the things that lead to the things that lead to sex

Instead, let Santa bring them a GUN for Christmas That is much better thing to do for kids.

I was in that State for a short period of time, and I saw how parents give guns to children for Christmas. This is true!

First off, I totally agree about kissing and hugging. What the heck is that all about?

I just want to mention, however, that guns are not bad when used safely. In pretty much any U.S. state, target shooting is a popular, fun, and safe activity. It's not like the parents will let their kids keep the guns in their rooms; they'll be kept only partly assembled in locked gun cases.

Judging by the other laws and rules that are often pushed by that type of thinking; namely:

Who you can and can not marry (gay and lesbian equal marriage rights)

What you can and can not do to you body (Women's health care and reproductive choices)

What counts as moral and what counts as immoral ( Things often pertaining to or seemingly of a sexual or sensual nature whether they are actually that way or not)

What Can and cannot be taught in our schools (Pushing creation theory instead of evolution)

I'd say "keeping the government out of your life" is the last thing actually on their minds. That is unless you happen to be a lucrative business with money for next years election.

I'm a moderate because I don't think extremes should dictate to a mass that spans the whole spectrum. but someone tell me why common sense is so rare now that it should be holding the number one spot for most endangered?

I have a few words for politicians: Stay out of my reproductive system, stay out of my child's moral upbringing, Stay out of my bedroom, and Stay away from my freedoms.

Heard a rumour that repub's want to outlaw use of the Internet in the US...then computers, and after that, all phones. Let's all backward, together.

Ok, that's a joke. But on moral issues, that's pretty much where they're headed. It seems like another case of 'my way or no-way', from a politician.

Don't forget that they can also learn about sex from older kids, adults they meet on the street or, and this is how I learned about sex, from any Playboy, Penthouse, Hustler or any other titty magazine they may get their hands on.

Daniel how about Karma Sutra - 100 ways to have sex - 200 to 400 years old and these yokels think they know about sex? and how to ban it

Nice try you supressed - man on top pilgrims - get a life!

Maybe when the enlightened people in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Colorado etc. make it illegal, the people of Tennessee will consider it.

It amazes me the amount of hate directed at a girl whom has never done a thing to warrant derision by you. If you're trying to make a point about hypocrisy, then I don't see the need to be mean spirited. It makes you seem a small person in comparison to your point.

Bristol Palin got pregnant to spite her mother for not giving her enough attention. Bristol also wanted out of raising Sarah's children.

You know her personally? Has she told you so from her own lips?

Fact is, the girl's only sin, as far as many of you are concerned, is that her mother is a political personality. Get off that bandwagon. I'm sure you are able to make your points without besmirching some young woman whom has never done a thing to you.

Big Curt, Bristol Palin opened herself to criticism when she publicly offered her opinion and denounced same sex marriage on Twitter. Being a gay man that affects me and I think the girl is a hypocrite. Not criticizing, you did say "many of you" =)

You might argue about whether it's okay to mock Bristol, but it's definitely right to mock the system. The way I see it, she's a failed product of her education, and all criticism should be directed at those who insist that abstinence-only education is a good idea.

Why stop at Bristol Palin? Why don't you mock the thousands/millions of teens that have gotten pregnant? Target is not so easy? hypocrites!

How are we hypocrites? She is a conservative, her mother preaches family values, she is an unwed teenage mother, and then she has the gall to come out against gay marriage?!?!?! Who the hell is the hypocrite?

Bristol Palin has no business being condescending or criticizing anyone on issues of sex. Maybe if her mother had taught her some sex education she wouldn't have gotten drunk and pregnant in a tent! Badger liberals attack her for being a freaking hypocrite like her mother.

Bristol Palin is a fair target not because she got pregnant and had a baby. She is a target because she went out on the stump to promote abstinence only education. Even though her child's very existence disproved the theory.

If she had gone out and talked about how if someone had taught her about reproduction and personal responsibility she might not have found herself in such a situation, then no one would be criticizing her. It's called hypocrisy and most of us find annoying.

@Jan

You had me in total agreement until you said she got drunk and pregnant in a tent.

Thats not nice nor is it accurate either.

It is precisely because of their kind of "stick your head in the sand" thinking that places like this have the highest incidence of disease and teen pregnancy yet they are so blinded by their beliefs that they cannot use the common sense the rest of us possess to see the obvious correlation. This is what happens when people lewt religion control rather than just influence their lives. They become too narrow -minded and closed off to tolerance and alternative methods of thinking.

Jan,

It was in the Men's room at the local truck stop.

Come on we-- Christians don't support "free will". Free will is for sinners. Following the bible, without question, that's what Xtians want.

Big Ed,

Not trying to drag these posts off topic, but my take on Christ's teachings is that you personally go into your own little space and converse with the bid daddy in the sky. Not so much blindly following a book and especially someone else's interpretation of the book. And me? I'm a Buddhist.

That same Bible that you speak of also states that sex should be between a MARRIED man and woman- let's not start using segments just to "prove" your point.

It's always been here.

Your a joke. Teen's need to learn personal responsibility and VALUES that apparently most people writing about this DON"T have. Just because Clinton got a blow job, doesn't mean all teenage girls, need to be doing that for every boy they know. MORALS are what these teens need to learn. They are deffinatly not learning them at home.

Joke about the Taliban all you want, Mohammed was a pedophile. Our country was founded on Christian principles. Too bad so many have been led down the wrong path.

@Jake In the Old Testament there is not only pedophilia but polygamy. Try again.

it's too bad the bible doesn't teach spelling

"Our country was founded on Christian principles."

Source for that statement, please.

Hey, Jake Darnell, you're an idiot. THE USA WAS NOT FOUNDED ON CHRISTIANITY!

It was founded on the hatred of christianity and all other religions.

Jake

Enough with the urban GOP myth that this country was founded on Christian Principles. You repeat that invention over and over to each other so that it eventually becomes your version of truth.

Cite any founding document that references Christianity. The founders were very cautious that the English version of the Christian State Church would not be replicated in the new Nation.

Guys, it was founded by a bunch of pot heads who knew religion for what it was, just another encroachment upon our liberties. Toke anyone?

Jake, I would just like to point out that I went to a school system which provided REAL sex education.

In 5th grade we started with simple things about puberty, such as the need to wear deodorant, that girls would be getting their periods, that type of thing.

In 6th grade we learned all about the reproductive system and how it worked.

In 7th and 8th grade we had health class, which covered sex ed among other things. We were taught about contraception, diseases, safe sex, everything. We were allowed to ask questions and they were always answered. We also had to carry around "sugar babies" (5lb bags of sugar) for a week to help provide us with the consequences of having to carry a baby around EVERYWHERE. This was the age when many of my classmates began experimenting sexually, and the age when I went on birth control.

In 9th grade we had the robot babies that scream and cry and you take them home for a weekend. They track how well you take care of them.

So by the time we hit high school, people were very knowledgeable about sex, how it worked, and ALL of the consequences.

I had a class of 375. 1 had a baby before graduation. 1. I would say that's a pretty damn good success rate for my school system's sex ed.

This thread reflects the glaring ignorance of the majority. No wonder America is going down the tubes. Sure hope you all like to botton-feed. We are loosing ground in Education, Manufacturing, Raw Marerials, Technology, Economy, Gross National Product, Productivity, Science, Ethics and Morality - because we have become complacent, stupid, selfish and entitled. Sad and pathetic.

Richard in Florida

Appears that you have concluded that the majority is below average. Do they teach math in your part of Florida?

Loyal Texan, do they teach rhetoric where you are? How about reading comprehension? Nowhere did Richard state that the majority was below some mathematical average. His comment is no different than stating that the majority of the world's population have brown eyes. Get over your self.