Thursday, October 26, 2006

Yesterday, Sexuality Issues Took Center Stage in NJ

New Jersey has finally said NO! to accepting federal dollars for abstinence-only-until-marriage (A-O-U-M) programs, as they are inconsistent with New Jersey's education standards. Over the past several years, New Jersey has accepted millions of dollars to fund A-O-U-M programs. But, this year, when federal guidelines became more strict, officials cut the state free of the strings attached to the sum. A-O-U-M programs often violate students’ rights, they embrace sexist stereotypes, isolate GLBT youth, promote religious views, provide fear-based messages, and consist of medically inaccurate information--especially when discussing sexually transmitted diseases and condoms.

The other sexuality-related news...
The New Jersey State Supreme Court handed down its decision in favor of same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples from other states will be able to travel to The Garden State to get hitched. Time will tell if the legislature will choose to refer to same-sex unions as "marriages," "civil unions," or something else.

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