Homosexual Activists Bullying Christian Lawmakers Over Bill

From the Missouri Baptist Convention

By BARBARA SHOUN/contributing writer

JEFFERSON CITY–Emails and threatening phone calls have been directed to Rep. Steve Cookson, R-Fairdealing, and those co-sponsoring his bill that would prohibit the discussion of sexual orientation as part of classes on human reproduction in public schools.

The homosexual community has risen up in opposition to House Bill 2051 (HB 2051) and the 19 representatives who have signed onto it. They insist it would have a harmful effect on students struggling with their sexual identity.

“We need to focus on how to get jobs. We want education to be about developing mathematicians and civil engineers. We do not like education to be the place where a political agenda uses it to social engineer our children,” Cookson said.

“We still need to be focusing our dollars toward good subjects and the primary mission.”
Calling for Cookson and other sponsors to withdraw the proposed legislation is a group of 36 representatives, led by Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis, calling itself the “House Progressive Caucus.”
Cookson said his bill does not target a particular sexual orientation but would ensure that the focus is on the curriculum parents expect their children to learn when they send them to school.

Kerry Messer, legislative liaison for the Missouri Baptist Convention, said that all the bill does is to remove the social engineering regarding the homosexual agenda.

“In 28 years, I have seen over 45,000 bills going through the Legislature. Until today,” he said, “I have never seen one group of legislators publicly call out another group of legislators to remove their names from a bill related to an issue those sponsors believe in.”

Messer said the homosexual network is doing everything it can to harass the 20 representatives who are in support of the bill. “They’re being beaten up with hundreds of harassing phone calls from around the state.”
Messer pointed out that the homosexual lobby is more than the homosexual community. It includes those who have empathy with them, and it is made up of groups who are affiliated based on the sexual fetishes that they hold in common, which may include criminal sexual behavior such as pedophilia, he said.

Cookson, who said he has been threatened as well as harassed, plans to work with House leadership but has no intention of withdrawing the bill or changing his stance on what the 23 words of the bill actually say:
“Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no instruction, material, or extracurricular activity sponsored by a public school that discusses sexual orientation other than in scientific instruction concerning human reproduction shall be provided in any public school.”

“I am a man of faith,” Cookson said. “I prayed to God before I filed the bill, like I do with other legislation. He gave me the words to accomplish what His goals are, to further His glory. That’s why I filed the bill.”