Opinion: "Don't Say Gay" Could Be One of the Dumbest Bills Ever

Mr. Campfield is what I call a stupid Republican. 

A man who says things like "My understanding is that it is virtually, not completely, but virtually, impossible to contract AIDS through heterosexual sex" has been pushing a bill called "Don't say gay." That man's name is Stacey Campfield, and he is a state senator in Tenesse.

Okay, first of all, why would you ever take a bill called "don't say gay" seriously? Sure, it's actually called the "classroom protection" bill, but that's just as stupid, because it's "protecting" our students from learning about the existence of gay people.

Basically, the bill makes it illegal for any teacher to mention homosexuality. They can't teach about it, they can't mention it, they can't do crap, because it's "unnatural."Well, to that argument I point to the natural world, the one filled with animals and birds. There are thousands of documented cases of homosexuality amongst animals such as elephants, dogs, monkeys, apes, giraffes, lions, sheep. If you don't believe me, just scan through this page. Homosexuality is just something that happens in nature. It's like pooping. Most animals poop. Everybody poops.

People can have opinions and everything, and while I think it is incredibly stupid to think of gay people as evil, less human, or whatever excuse these people can think of, the argument of "I don't like gay people" can't be used here.
Schools are ment to prepare students for the real world. Why else would we send them there. We consider kids who are coddled by their parents and never allowed to go anywhere or do anything, even school, "weird" because they simply aren't prepared for the real world. Think of Busted from Arrested Development.

Ignoring a part of our population is not preparing a kid at all. Imagine a kid who has never heard of gay people because he was raised by a super strict religious family and went to a school under Mr. Campfield's jurisdiction. Let's say this kid gets a job, which hopefully Mr. Campfield isn't against. I mean, when you work, you might meet gay people. Oh no!
Let's say this kid gets a job and meets a gay person. he will be completely unprepared for that. Not that gay people are dramatically different from anyone else in normal social settings, but this kid will have no idea what to do. Treat him/her like a normal person? (yes) Run away screaming? (no) Shout "coodies!"? (no)

Now Mr. Campfield is trying to accomplish... something, by "loosening" the terms of his bill. "To assuage fears that it would prevent teachers from counseling troubled students, it now specifically excludes "answering in good faith" questions students ask."Newser reports. That's better, I guess, but then theirs this: If a teacher answers one of those "in good faith questions" he/she is required to report those conversations to parents.

While I'm all for teacher-parent conversation, it seems stupid to force this one the kids, especially if they live with super religious annoying types.The Tennessee Equality Project points out that this would "erode the trust between students and counselors."
Campfield rebuts this, saying "It's ridiculous to say we should shield parents from that information." He then continues, calling homosexuality "potentially dangerous or life-threatening."

It's only dangerous because of people like Mr. Campfield who continue to make life hard for the gay community. He, and others like him, should really leave these people alone and focus on mor important things, like the country's crushing debt, murder, and basically anything else.
The fact that gay people exist does not affect Mr. Campfield at all, or anyone really. I can honestly say my life has in no way been made worse by the existence of gay people. In fact, the inclusion of gay people in Modern Family makes the show very, very good.

Mr. Campfield is part of a growing part of the Republican party that I just despise. While I still call myself a Republican, it annoys the crap out of me that I have to share a title with people like Mr. Campfield. It's Republicans like him who give the party the extremist, idiotic, out of date feel that so many people see when they look at the GOP.
And they're getting that feel because, for some reason, we keep voting people like this in.
I'm fine with voting for a guy who doesn't like gay people if he/she realizes that there are more important things to focus on, and that any level of Government shouldn't really have anything to do with anyones orientation.

Here's some other great, educated lines straight from the big guy himself:

• On Bullying: "That bullying thing is the biggest lark out there. There are sexually confused children who could be pushed into a lifestyle that I don’t think is appropriate with them and ... they don't know how they can get back from that."
• So bullying is good because it helps get rid of the gays?
• On "Don't Say Gay": "If someone, a person of influence, says maybe you're gay, maybe you should explore those things, maybe the child, who is young and impressionable, says maybe I am gay."
• Oh god, we don't want another gay do we? (Heavy sarcasm, if you didn't catch it)
• On AIDS: "Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community, it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall."
• Just... no. I thought we got passed this in the 80s. 
• On gay men: "What's the average lifespan of a homosexual? it's very short. Google it yourself."
• I Googled it. And nope, not true. 

So please Mr. Campfield, just stop. Stop bothering gay people, and stop being stupid. Just go home, where you can be not-gay and be surrounded by not-gay people. Heck, talk with those not-gay people about how you're morally better than those gay people out there. I really don't care, because you doing things in your own home doesn't affect me at all, just how people being gay doesn't affect you at all.

And I leave you with a stupid joke straight out of the Late Night Jokes. "Stacey Campfield is putting forth this bill that would ban the mentioning of gayness in schools. This is ironic, because I mean, come on, there isn't a more gay name than "Stacey."

(And a side note, Stacey apparently means "good grapes" in greek.)