Voter guide to sex and queer rights

Image via magandafille.

Two issues in the American election are very personal for me: sex education in public schools and gay rights. Sifting through the muck of rhetoric and putting together puzzle pieces of rushed talking points and obfuscation during the debates hasn’t helped, so I’m extremely happy to see that AlterNet has put together a very concise and handy voter guide to sex and relationships, more specifically gay marriage, LGBT adoption, and sex ed (abstinence vs. science). Here’s a snip from the end, but do click through and read the rest of the issues; I certainly learned some new things and now have a much clearer picture of where the candidates stand:

3. SEX EDUCATION

Abstinence-only education has been a 10-year, $1.5 billion failed federal project. Studies have shown that teens who attend schools with abstinence-until-marriage programming are just as sexually active as those who don’t. But, in spite of all evidence against them, the Bush administration has been a stalwart champion of these ideologically motivated programs, which downplay the effectiveness of condoms and other types of contraception, exaggerate and sometimes fabricate health risks associated with abortion, hype medically inaccurate information, reinforce damaging gender stereotypes and generally use fear and shame in an attempt to control sexuality. Many states have begun to turn down federal funding for chastity-based education, but many others — including those with some of the highest rates of STIs and unintended pregnancies — still support it.

* Solution: Federally fund comprehensive sexuality education in all states to ensure that kids have access to medically accurate information that helps them make emotionally and physically healthy decisions about sex.

* Obama’s position: Obama strongly supports comprehensive sex education and opposes abstinence-only education. He has called for comprehensive sex education in all grades — as long as it is age-appropriate. Obama supports the Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act, which would fund science-based sex education, and co-sponsored the Prevention First Act — legislation meant to increase access to contraception services and information. He voted yes on an amendment to the Senate’s fiscal year 2006 budget that would put $100 million toward reducing unintended and teen pregnancy through education and contraception.

* McCain’s position: McCain opposes comprehensive sex education. He voted against legislation to allocate $100 for preventing unintended and teen pregnancy through education and contraception. He has also voted no on legislation to fund programs that provide comprehensive, medically accurate sex education and voted no on legislation that would require abstinence-only programming to be medically accurate and scientifically based. (…read more, alternet.org)