A California legal group says it's inappropriate for a Los Angeles high school to directly fund "gay marriage" and gay rights.
The drama club at El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills is preparing for its production of "8" -- a dramatic reading based on the Proposition 8 trial. It includes parts of the transcript from the trial that overturned the measure, which defined marriage solely between a man and a woman.
The California Family Council reports that a note on the school's website shows that suggested donations for the play will be given to the American Federation for Equal Rights. Dean Broyles of The National Center for Law and Policy (NCLP) says this is not a subject on which schools should be focused.
"Public schools are not the place to promote the radical GLBT agenda, including the redefinition of marriage to include same-sex marriage," he contends. "Parents need to be teaching their kids right and wrong, not the state. The administration's decision demonstrates a radical agenda that undermines parental rights and religious freedom. Public schools need to teach the basics and must stop misappropriating our taxpayer dollars, engaging and indoctrinating our children with progressive propaganda."
The Los Angeles Daily News reports that Sue Freitag, director of the school's theatre program, says she felt it was important to expose students to what she considers one of the key civil rights issues of their time. But while the California Family Council asserts that the production is biased, Freitag has the full support of the school's administration. She says only one parent has questioned the production so far.
"8" was written by Dustin Lance Black, who won an Oscar for penning the script for Milk, the film that depicts the life of late homosexual politician Harvey Milk.