STUDENT: Press demeans families

I had to take exception to your Jan. 10 article by Devin Weeks of a counselor giving advice to an 11-year-old on the transgender topic without the parents/guardians input or being notified of such conversations. It shows the bias your newspaper and the school district have toward the LGBTQ agenda, and the continuation by your newspaper (as with the biased liberal media) of not simply reporting the facts, but instead lacing your reporting with your own interpretation and conclusions on the subject.

You clearly cited the Idaho state code (I,C. 33-1212) that does not require schools to notify parents of every little conversation, but a conversation to this serious of a nature should have been told to the family! Once again, the school districts ideals and opinions trump the parents’ rights!

Then to demean the family’s concern, you mentioned the family seeking legal counsel through MassResistance, and of course you editorialize that this organization is (of course) anti-LGBTQ and you label them a hate group, evidently because they don’t agree with you or your newspaper’s opinions and moral standards. And what is the Southern Poverty Law Center, if not a group of people with an equally biased agenda but in line with your values?

But as if that isn’t telling enough, you include the school board’s input to further demean the family by adding, “These rights (of the family) exist on balance with the school districts responsibility…!” In other words, the school district believes they know what is best for their students, not the family members?

Then the ultimate insult: “Many families are guided by historical values, religious beliefs and cultural standards, which is understandable, however, not always accepting of gender identity and expression. The most important person is the child and his/her/their feelings of emotional well-being…” So, again, the schools, school districts, and the press know better than any family?

And you end the article with the rebuttal quote from the LGBTQ Alliance… and advertising that the Alliance is planning a counter-demonstration. Guess you should have included the date, time and the toll-free number for interested parties to sign up?

Shame on you!

JERRY CASTEEL

Hayden