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NPR's All Things Considered
Broadcast 31/03/2000, Story 15

British politicians are fighting over whether homosexuality should be discussed in schools prime minister tony blair wants to repeal a law that bars teachers from promoting homosexuality in any way but blair has been rebuffed by conservatives for using the issue to with that sentiment against the ruling labor party from london n. p. r.'s madeleine brand reports

It has an unremarkable name section twenty eight but for people like or will it be spokeswoman for the gay rights groups done while the measure is loaded with them

Is that we have so they can target one set of society and a strong

Second

He was past ten years ago under the conservative leadership of margaret thatcher it prevents local authorities including teachers from promoting homosexuality will be says the word promote

His day

G. m. has led to a lot of confusion in government funded schools when anti democratic but until court has declared that teachers are so we'll take our society because netanyahu to some people that eventually keeps extricate the man she just made mention it all the candidates an acceptable lifestyle in a couple of things to be unable to teach history teacher from one recipe put to a sound bite of coercion

Well he said that means many teachers will keep quiet when they hear such talk

They're innocent and a young a conservative member of the house of lords as teachers should never turn a blind eye when kids are being harassed and that discrimination is a key issue she says such twenty eight simply protects children and their parents are being subjected to inappropriate sex education in school

If you're still some of the material they would say to five or sixty of those acts out the following policies of children also might say well i did as a child played mother and father but instead of doing that at that survey they accept that time anywhere that a two mommies and two daddies and that we all sorts of ideas and two children sydney and i think it's quite well

She and her colleagues have defeated recent labor attempts to repeal section twenty eight but prime minister tony blair is undeterred he says he'll bring it up again when you members of the house of lords are sworn in in a couple of months

We remain committed to the repeal of that kind we're going to remain in the afternoon recess in the midst of a propaganda campaign but i think that uh that in some way by refusing to hold twenty eight children in our schools not going to happen and sex education that the change that is completely untrue so far the route be debated

Mainly in parliament and on the editorial pages rodney barker of political science professor at the london school of economics says the danger for blair is this so called new england gets involved

Middle class middle values found precisely the sort of people that the prime minister and his government are very effective able to stand trial

But these people can be swayed by conservative appeals to preserve traditional family morality parker says and that may happen in scotland where a supporter of section twenty eight is financing a public referendum on the issue to keep the law

But barbour believes blair will

Millie prevail because most people in britain are middle of the road moderates like blair himself

That presents himself as a family man because of an article coming out

I am a religious man because of inadequate adjustment nineteen eighty the manicures to church is not anything to crop that had been discussed and rolled well say the idea that ten times that or his government are somehow part of a strategy conspiracy to subvert christian families it is simply that it's a homeless shelter

But conservatives are promising to keep this issue in the public eye and he used it in the next national election to defeat labor candidates madeleine brand n. p. r. news london


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