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Fifty-three House Republicans, led by Congressman Steve King, sent a letter to the White House Thursday calling on President Obama to fire Kevin Jennings, whom Obama appointed in May to head the Education Department's Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools.
Despite conclusive evidence from Media Matters that the student Jennings advised on his sexual relationship with an older man was of legal age of consent at the time of their conversation, conservatives who are gunning for Jennings to step down aren't giving up their fight.
"Support is growing in Congress and across America for President Obama to fire Kevin Jennings and replace him with someone possessing the appropriate qualifications and ethical standards to serve in a presidential administration," King wrote. "Despite serving as the 'safe schools' czar, Jennings has no experience keeping students safe or keeping our schools drug free. Jennings is committed to the 'safety' of only a narrow portion of American students, while expressing disdain for religion and traditional values. President Obama should fire Kevin Jennings immediately."
The text of the letter and names of signers follows on the next page:
October 15, 2009
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
We
respectfully request that you remove Kevin Jennings, the Assistant
Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, from
your Administration. It is clear that Mr. Jennings lacks the
appropriate qualifications and ethical standards to serve in this
capacity.
As the founder of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight
Education Network (GLSEN), Mr. Jennings has played an integral role in
promoting homosexuality and pushing a pro-homosexual agenda in
America's schools -- an agenda that runs counter to the values that many
parents desire to instill in their children. As evidence of this, Mr.
Jennings wrote the foreword for a book titled Queering Elementary
Education: Advancing the Dialogue About Sexualities and Schooling.
Throughout his career, Mr. Jennings has made it his mission to
establish special protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered students to the exclusion of all other students. The
totality of Mr. Jennings' career has been to advocate for public
affirmation of homosexuality. There is more to safe and drug free
schools than can be accomplished from the narrow view of Mr. Jennings
who has, for more than 20 years, almost exclusively focused on
promoting the homosexual agenda.
Equally troubling is Mr.
Jennings' self-described history of ignoring the sexual abuse of a
child. In his book, One Teacher in Ten, Mr. Jennings recounts a 15-year-old student confiding in him that he had a sexual relationship with a
much older man. Mr. Jennings' only response was to ask if the underage
boy used a condom. As a mandatory reporter, Mr. Jennings was required
by law to report child abuse, including sex crimes. Mr. Jennings cannot
serve as the "safe schools" czar when his record demonstrates a
willingness to overlook the sexual abuse of a child.
As the
"safe schools" czar, Mr. Jennings is also charged with ensuring our
schools and students are drug free. It is clear that Mr. Jennings is
unfit to serve in this capacity, as well. His own history of
unrepentant drug and alcohol abuse indicates that he is of the opinion
that getting drunk and high as a young person is acceptable. In his
memoir, Mama's Boy, Preacher's Son, Mr. Jennings describes his use of
illegal drugs, without expressing regret or acknowledging the
devastating effects illegal drug use can have on a person's life.
Everyone
that deals with the education of the most vulnerable must be a positive
role model. Our children are not blessed with the wisdom to discern and
reject. Children presume the adults who educate them are approved by
the larger society and their parents. Kevin Jennings cannot gain the
approval of parents who want their children safe and their schools drug
free. You should replace him with someone who has a record of educating
children in a safe and moral environment.
Given these very serious issues with Mr. Jennings' record, we urge you to remove him immediately.
Sincerely,
King
Alexander
Aderholt
Akin
Austria
Bachmann
Bachus
Bartlett
Barton
Boozman
Broun
Brown, H.
Carter
Chaffetz
Coffman
Cole
Conaway
Davis, Geoff
Fallin
Fleming
Foxx
Franks
Garrett
Gingrey
Gohmert
Hunter
Issa
Jordan
Lamborn
Latta
Luetkemeyer
Marchant
McClintock
McHenry
McKeon
McMorris
Mica
Miller, J.
Myrick
Neugebauer
Olson, P.
Pence
Pitts
Posey
Rogers (AL)
Rooney
Ryan, Paul
Shuster
mith, C
Smith, L.
Wamp
Westmoreland
Jones, Walter
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