Getting Messy.
David Parker is back in the news as he gets ready to go to trial for is arrest for criminal trespassing. Honestly, this whole thing has entered the realm of the ridiculous. Parker's "simple" request to be notified of anything he deems inappropriate for his child is just inane. Yeah, there's a law, but it's one thing for a school to send out a mass mailing before a scheduled event and something entirely different to have to keep track of each parent's preferences and force teachers to check their lesson plans against that list, and to make the school provide alternate supervision for that time period, since I'm sure turning them loose on the playground for a while wouldn't go over so well. If you don't like what is being taught in the public school system, you are completely free to school your child at home or enroll them in some private institution that enshrines your belief system.
The flip side is the vigor with which the school district is prosecuting Parker. If the lady writing her opEd piece on Fox is to be believed 
, the school district is looking at a widespread ban on Parker's presence. Also stupid. He's been arrested. He's going to trial. Defend yourself in court. Maintain a professional demeanor. Otherwise ignore him. If he becomes a disruptive presence to district government functions, which he is not at this point, fine. Ban him.
All this is now is an immature pissing contest.
What really gets my ire up is these people who play the I'm-not-a-homophobe-my-best-friend-is-gay card. Oh, really? Earlier in the article we read:
Parker expressed his belief that gay parents did not constitute "a spiritually healthy family"; he did not wish his son to be taught that a gay family is "a morally equal alternative to other family constructs."
Have you expressed that belief to the face of your gay best friend? Your best friend? You might think he's your best friend. Does he feel the same way? Does he also believe that he is incapable of establishing a spiritually healthy family? Does he believe your relationship with your wife is morally superior to his (perhaps future) relationship with his boyfriend?
What a jerk.
Hattip: Balloon Juice