ARTICLE: 53 Republicans demand firing of 'safe schools czar' Kevin Jennings (The Hill)
Washington,
Oct 15, 2009 -
Fifty-three House Republicans have written President
Barack Obama asking him to remove "safe schools czar" Kevin Jennings
from that position.
The lawmakers accused Jennings of "pushing a
pro-homosexual agenda" and said that Jennings's past writings exhibit a
record that makes him unfit for the position.
"We respectfully request that you remove Kevin
Jennings, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug
Free Schools, from your Administration," the Republicans wrote. "It is
clear that Mr. Jennings lacks the appropriate qualifications and ethical
standards to serve in this capacity."
Jennings has come under scrutiny from conservative
personalities like talk show host Sean Hannity for his handling of an
alleged incident involving underage sex, as well as Jennings's own
reported personal history with drugs and alcohol — charges the GOP
members echoed.
The letter was primarily assembled by Rep. Steve King
(R-Iowa), and was joined by 53 Republican colleagues, including two
members of leadership: House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence
(Ind.) and House Republican Conference Vice Chairwoman Cathy McMorris
Rodgers (R-Wash.).
Jennings, who founded the Gay and Lesbian Independent
School Teacher Network (GLISTeN), was appointed by Obama to head the
Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, a position Jennings assumed in
July.
"Kevin Jennings cannot gain the approval of parents
who want their children safe and their schools drug free," the
Republican congressmen said. "You should replace him with someone who
has a record of educating children in a safe and moral environment."
The Jennings controversy follows the Sept. 6
resignation of Green Jobs Czar Van Jones and the long-blocked nomination
of Cass Sunstein as regulatory czar.
Find the entire letter, with signatories, below:
October 15, 2009
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
We respectfully request that you remove Kevin
Jennings, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug
Free Schools, from your Administration. It is clear that Mr. Jennings
lacks the appropriate qualifications and ethical standards to serve in
this capacity.
As the founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network (GLSEN), Mr. Jennings has played an integral role in
promoting homosexuality and pushing a pro-homosexual agenda in America’s
schools—an agenda that runs counter to the values that many parents
desire to instill in their children. As evidence of this, Mr. Jennings
wrote the foreword for a book titled Queering Elementary Education:
Advancing the Dialogue About Sexualities and Schooling. Throughout his
career, Mr. Jennings has made it his mission to establish special
protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students to the
exclusion of all other students. The totality of Mr. Jennings’ career
has been to advocate for public affirmation of homosexuality. There is
more to safe and drug free schools than can be accomplished from the
narrow view of Mr. Jennings who has, for more than 20 years, almost
exclusively focused on promoting the homosexual agenda.
Equally troubling is Mr. Jennings’ self-described
history of ignoring the sexual abuse of a child. In his book, One
Teacher in Ten, Mr. Jennings recounts a 15-year old student confiding in
him that he had a sexual relationship with a much older man. Mr.
Jennings’ only response was to ask if the underage boy used a condom. As
a mandatory reporter, Mr. Jennings was required by law to report child
abuse, including sex crimes. Mr. Jennings cannot serve as the “safe
schools” czar when his record demonstrates a willingness to overlook the
sexual abuse of a child.
As the “safe schools” czar, Mr. Jennings is also
charged with ensuring our schools and students are drug free. It is
clear that Mr. Jennings is unfit to serve in this capacity, as well. His
own history of unrepentant drug and alcohol abuse indicates that he is
of the opinion that getting drunk and high as a young person is
acceptable. In his memoir, Mama’s Boy, Preacher’s Son, Mr. Jennings
describes his use of illegal drugs, without expressing regret or
acknowledging the devastating effects illegal drug use can have on a
person’s life.
Everyone that deals with the education of the most
vulnerable must be a positive role model. Our children are not blessed
with the wisdom to discern and reject. Children presume the adults who
educate them are approved by the larger society and their parents.
Kevin Jennings cannot gain the approval of parents who want their
children safe and their schools drug free. You should replace him with
someone who has a record of educating children in a safe and moral
environment.
Given these very serious issues with Mr. Jennings’
record, we urge you to remove him immediately.
King
Alexander
Aderholt
Akin
Austria
Bachmann
Bachus
Bartlett
Barton
Boozman
Broun
Brown, H.
Carter
Chaffetz
Coffman
Cole
Conaway
Davis, Geoff
Fallin
Fleming
Foxx
Franks
Garrett
Gingrey
Gohmert
Hunter
Issa
Jordan
Lamborn
Latta
LuetkemeyerMarchant
McClintock
McHenry
McKeon
McMorris
Mica
Miller, J.
Myrick
Neugebauer
Olson, P.
Pence
Pitts
Posey
Rogers (AL)
Rooney
Ryan, Paul
Shuster
Smith, C
Smith, L.
Wamp
Westmoreland
Jones, Walter