While it was good to see people exercising their democratic right to protest outside of Airdrie City Hall this week, the message these protesters brought forth was more than a little problematic.
No one would disagree with the idea that we must protect our children from all forms of sexual predation, trafficking and grooming, but the protesters engaged in the “One Million March for Children” on Wednesday more often than not seemed to be equating being gay with being a pedophile, in their message and on their signs.
This is obviously false and many would call it homophobic, or even hateful.
First, being an adult gay male or female is not a choice. It is biology. Secondly, being gay means being attracted to someone of the same sex in an adult, consenting relationship.
By equating homosexuality with pedophilia, the protesters risk losing any moral ground they might have in their arguments for protecting children in schools.
Just by knowing gay people exist, and are out there, does not endanger children.
You could argue that young children, in particular, may not have a sufficient enough understanding of their own sexuality to understand what being gay or straight even means. One could, perhaps, make an argument that such understanding would more likely come at an older age, and that’s when young people would most benefit from sexual education in this respect.
However, pedophiles are not gay people or straight people. They are deviants who sexually desire young children. It is its own thing, and a monstrous thing we in society need to do more to stamp out.
Pedophiles are equally likely to target either young girls or young boys. The rest comes down to whatever twisted bent these creatures harbour deep inside themselves by urges they cannot even explain.
They are not normal human beings, gay or otherwise.
Let’s first get that fact right, and then we can start talking about what should and should not be included in a school sex education curriculum.
