# (call to action) HSLDA supporting ban on same sex marriages



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

So, HSLDA ( Home School Legal Defense Assoc) has decided that they are going to get involved in the same sex marriage issue. To read their homophobic rhetoric see this link
http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200402050.asp

Why is a homeschool legal defense group getting involved with an issue that has nothing to do with HSing is a bit surprising. Well, I can guess why, but I won't post it here.

I looked for a way to contact them on their site, but was unsuccessful. Anyone want to help by finding a way to email them?


----------



## Els' 3 Ones (Nov 19, 2001)

https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/feedback.asp


----------



## AnnMarie (May 21, 2002)

[email protected]

https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/feedback.asp

Sending my email now........


----------



## kama'aina mama (Nov 19, 2001)

Ah, well. Here is there "About" statement, or charter, if you will
http://www.hslda.org/about/default.asp

Quote:

The Home School Legal Defense Association is a non-profit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms. Through annual memberships, HSLDA is tens of thousands of families united in service together, providing a strong voice when and where needed.
(There is more, that's the lead paragraph.)
I guess they mean they protect the freedom of *some* families. While specifically targeting the freedoms of other families. All I know is if I had ever given this group a dime I would be mad as hell they were using my money on this when it has nothing to do with their charter.


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

Thanks El's


----------



## Sasha_girl (Feb 19, 2003)

How ridiculous.







:


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by kama'aina mama_
*I guess they mean they protect the freedom of some families. While specifically targeting the freedoms of other families. All I know is if I had ever given this group a dime I would be mad as hell they were using my money on this when it has nothing to do with their charter.*
Exactly!!! I almost joined last summer, but something stopped me. I just emailed them letting them know I wouldn't support their organ, and would informing all my local and online friends the same and WHY!


----------



## sleeping queen (Nov 10, 2003)

I'm a member of hslda and I'm glad!


----------



## AnnMarie (May 21, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by sleeping queen_
*I'm a member of hslda and I'm glad!*
I'm glad you think that you have the right to tell other people who they should and shouldn't love.







:


----------



## sleeping queen (Nov 10, 2003)

I don't care who anyone loves or lives with, I just don't want it forced on me!


----------



## sleeping queen (Nov 10, 2003)

Out of curiosity , is everyone here also in favor of polygamy?


----------



## Mona (May 22, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by sleeping queen_
*I don't care who anyone loves or lives with, I just don't want it forced on me!*

Do you think someone is going to force you to marry another woman?!

Where is the ignorant smile when you need one....


----------



## Els' 3 Ones (Nov 19, 2001)

I'm going to ask a question. I'm fairly certain I will not get an answer.

SQ, I thought you believed in upholding the constitution of the United States. (?) If so, then how can it be legal to deny ppl equal protection under the law?

I am "married". I get special treatment under the law bcuz I am married. Things I would not get if I were not married. These same specific treatments should, by the constitution, be afforded to anyone who marries. Anything less is unconstitutional.

Now, do you believe in the constitution or not?


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

ya know, this thread was intended to be a call to action. Do we have to have the same old freaking debate in every thread.

Yes, there are members here that are homophobes. Nothing anyone says here is going to change that.


----------



## sleeping queen (Nov 10, 2003)

Well it is forced on me cost wise. If people in same sex marriage get same benefits, insurance, social security, then it costs the rest of us.

I don't believe the constitution ever said we coud redefine marriage. An institution that has been the same for thousands of years.

So should we protect polygamist, pediphiles, where do you draw the line.


----------



## Marg of Arabia (Nov 19, 2001)

Quote:

ya know, this thread was intended to be a call to action. Do we have to have the same old freaking debate in every thread.
I think some can't resist, but I have to admit, like Els, it is so hard not to take the bait!!


----------



## Els' 3 Ones (Nov 19, 2001)

Your right. The constitution never said anything about marriage. The federal and state gov't have. The constitution says "equal protection". It's the same reason that schools were de-segregated, women are allowed to vote, citizens of color are allowed to vote, etc............

There is no agenda.

I have no idea what you're talking about with pedophiles









I think you should crack open a history book and read the history of marriage..................it hasn't always been so defined as you suggest.


----------



## Mona (May 22, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by Arduinna_
*ya know, this thread was intended to be a call to action. Do we have to have the same old freaking debate in every thread.

Yes, there are members here that are homophobes. Nothing anyone says here is going to change that.*

your're right, you're right, you are right.

took the bait. we need a "smack the hand" smile. :LOL

So let's return to the topic and ignore homophobes, shall we?


----------



## BeeandOwlsMum (Jul 11, 2002)

Now then...we have had this conversation about "crashing" info threads.

It is generally seen as not cool.

This is like the pro-life and pro-choice threads...we asked that if you were nto in support of them, as a call to action, or an info thread, that you scroll on by.

I VERY POLITELY REQUEST, that if you don't have somerthing to add to this discussion in the vein of the OP, then please, feel free to start another thread. But don't ruin this one please.

And furthermore, I will remind everyone once again, that homosexuality is NOT up for debate. You may discuss gay marriage, but do not post things that will lead to the debate of homosexuality.

Thank you.. If you have any questions, please, PM me, I am more than happy to answer.


----------



## hvl25 (Jan 28, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by sleeping queen_
*I'm a member of hslda and I'm glad!*
Why does this not surprise me?







:


----------



## Els' 3 Ones (Nov 19, 2001)

mea culpa.................









I was bored...................

Thanks for the heads up Arduinna.

Ya know, everyone I know who is not a conservative christian has no problem with this. That is a lot of ppl. I know few conservative christians.........

How does this crap generate such debate? Why are all the open-minded ppl so silent? It is a "silent" majority and I am so fearful of where we are headed if we don't start speaking up.

El


----------



## MaryKate (Dec 6, 2003)

I think anytime you "attack" an organization ,like HSLDA you are going to get a little uprising from someone who supports the organization. I think it is normal. I do know of homeschoolers that HSLDA has given wonderful legal help in other areas to them. So may be you don't agree with some things a organization stands for but it doesn't mean it is a horrible organiz.
This is just my opinion!
Here I go again opening my big fat mouth when I said I wasn't going to!!


----------



## hvl25 (Jan 28, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by sleeping queen_
*I don't care who anyone loves or lives with, I just don't want it forced on me!*

Did it ever occur to you that they don't want same sex marriages forced on them?

I just don't understand why its anyones business what we do in our own bedrooms.


----------



## kama'aina mama (Nov 19, 2001)

MaryKate, my point was that an organization that collects money from people owes those people, morally and legally. They must use the money for the purpose it was collected. This action has nothing to do with their statement of purpose. If I collect money from my neighbors to put in a new swingset at the local park and decide later to just give the money to a soup kitchen they have every right to be angry with me. If I were a homeschooler who had given money to this group so that I and my fellow homeschoolers could count on money being there if we had legal problems I would be mad that they had chosen to spend my money on a totally unrelated issue, even if I agreed with that issue. It is theft via misrepresentation.


----------



## Breathless Wonder (Jan 25, 2004)

I have a real problem with HSLDA, and not just because of their extra curricular activites, either.

But the problem is, until homeschooling is no lnoger a "red flag" for the Social Services system, HSLDA will remain strong.

I know of MANY people that are struggling financially who see joining HSLDA as "insurance" in case there is a knock on the door. And when Social Services gets involved, you NEED legal advice. And guess what? You have NO RIGHT to a public defender, UNTIL YOU ARE FORMALLY CHARGED WITH ABUSE OR NEGLECT! What this means, is CPS needs to do their investigation, find it founded, and you need to be taken to court before you can get a public defender. So unless you can pay for a lawyer during the investigation period, you are ON YOUR OWN!

Another thing HSLDA doesn't tell many of their new members is that they pick and choose what cases to take, even if you have paid that $100 a year. You could call, and they could decide they don't want to help you. It could be because of your religion, your homeschooling approach, because the homeschooling issue is entrenched in a divorce or custody battle, or a number of other reasons.

They are not about promoting "homeschooling" and "family" for all- only for those that think like them.

So it doesn't suprise me that they are opposing a redifination of marriage.

But saldy, they seem like the only affordable game in town, and people will go, because they feel like they have no other options.


----------



## Clarity (Nov 19, 2001)

I was planning on going in a few years since we will probably homeschool at some point, despite the fact they are mostly religious homeschoolers and I am not. Now I see that only certain families and certain homeschoolers deserve their assistance. That's too bad. I agree...there was a big dispute about union dues being used for advocacy on issues the members did not necessarly agree with...conservatives were very loud about criticizing this isssue. But I see it affects people of all political leanings. You don't collect money and use it for a issue outside your focus!


----------



## MaryKate (Dec 6, 2003)

Yes i see what you mean about collecting money for one thing but doing something else with it. That is not a real good thing to do. I agree. But ,imo, probably most of the homeschoolers that are members would support them in this discission about the ban. Imo.


----------



## Snowy Owl (Nov 16, 2003)

I could not resist...
Someone said something about being forced to support gay marriages financially, but it's a known fact that the queer couple demographic is a very 'lucrative' one, due to their high levels of disposable income. They are more likely to be supporting you, not the other way around. Not that it matters.
Anyway, i couldn't even read that HSLDA thing...too nauseating.


----------



## Snowy Owl (Nov 16, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by MaryKate_
*
Here I go again opening my big fat mouth when I said I wasn't going to!!







*
Oh, Mary kate, you go on and open your mouth whenever you want. Just know that some issues will get you in deep water...and some discussion boards will be more supportive of certain leanings than others, right?

Say, did you start up christian mothering? Neat. I wanted to suggest that you paste the actual link in your sig so people can click on it...instead of having to spend that extra five seconds typing it in...you know.....


----------



## Curandera (May 17, 2003)

It was all too







T sorry!


----------



## kama'aina mama (Nov 19, 2001)

Quote:

_Originally posted by MaryKate_
*But ,imo, probably most of the homeschoolers that are members would support them in this discission about the ban. Imo.*
That is totally beside the point. Obviously that is their opinion also.. but it does not excuse them from misappropriating funds. Using my example again... my neighbors who gave me swingset money might all think the soup kitchen is great. But perhaps they have each already given $500 dollars directly to the soup kitchen this year and they REALLY wanted the $50 they gave me to go towards a swingset, as I said it would.

It is unfair of them and you to asume that homeschoolers are a politically and religously homogeneous group. They should stick to their charter and stay out of politics and social engineering.


----------



## MaryKate (Dec 6, 2003)

Thanks for the tip snowy owl! How do you paste it on ? I am not real good on the computer! I am surprised i have got my own board up and running considering I am a real dope with the computer!!!!:LOL :LOL

I am not trying to be unfair about this topic,kama'aina mama. I truly understand what you are saying and I agree 100% that it is not right to say you are collecting money for one thing and giving it to another. I understand completely. It is not real honest of them to do that. Could be a bad christian testimony.


----------



## Cajunmomma (Nov 21, 2001)

I'm not surprised that HSLDA is supporting an anti-gay marriage ban. Although their "mission statement" does say that they were organized to support homeschoolers, they have in the past taken very conservative views. And they do not support all homeschoolers. In every state (and please don't explain practicality to me. I understand that.) they choose one stae organization to deal with. If you are not a member of that organization, then they will not get involved in problems (other than personal, individual legal problems) in your state--for example legislative problems. This happened in my state, and when I called to inform HSLDA about the problem, they told me that unless they received a call from a particular homeschooling organization, they wouldn't even consider taking any action. Interestingly enough, here, I wasn't even eligible to join that organization beccause of my religion.

Anyway, that's when I quit. Since then, I've heard a number of pretty bad things about them. I don't know if any of them are true, but I agree with the others who say that a homeschooling organization has enough to do with homeschooling problems. They should keep to the business that they are (supposedly) expert in.


----------



## Snowy Owl (Nov 16, 2003)

christianmothering.com

Should look like this:

URL=http://www.christianmothering.com]christianmothering.com[/URL
with [ and ] at beginning and end, which I omitted omitted so you can see code.

Sorry this is so off topic....continue on....


----------



## Clarity (Nov 19, 2001)

I suspect the HSLDA members are more diverse than even they suspect...homeschooling is growing so much and encompassing people who homeschool for a wide variety of reasons. And they appreciate the work that HSLDA is doing. I myself have used info I found on their site. But in the end, HSLDA and its members should support LESS govt intrusion on families, not more. I wrote and told them so.


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

more info about this organization and their supposed stand for religious freedom ( apparently only if your a member of their religion though) http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000029.asp

One of the goals of the Home School Legal Defense Association is to work in the Federal and State legislatures and the courts to protect our right to freely exercise our religious beliefs. Because most home schoolers teach their children at home in order to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, our right to freely exercise our religious beliefs is paramount.

Uh huh, wish I had seen this before

read the rest of the link. Apparently anything (zoning laws ect) that might not go in the favor of their religion is automatically a threat to their religious freedoms. Including city historic distrcit ordinances that don't allow for remodeling. I think they have taken it a bit too far. IMO they are bordering on fanatical.


----------



## pugmadmama (Dec 11, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by Arduinna_
*...Why is a homeschool legal defense group getting involved with an issue that has nothing to do with HSing is a bit surprising. Well, I can guess why, but I won't post it here...*
As a former homeschooler, I am so shocked and angry about this. THANK YOU for bringing to my attention! I am still in contact with a lot of homeschools and will definatly pass this on.


----------



## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Thank you to the OP.

As a non-bigoted home schooler I already sent my email and will be informing others that share my mindset of this atrocity.

I do NOT want people to get the idea that this type of hatred is what homeschoolers support!


----------



## laralou (Nov 27, 2001)

We joined HSLDA when we were homeschooling. The religious stuff is very clear when you sign up. In fact, you have to tell them what curriculum you use and give info about your religious beliefs before they will "approve" you for membership. (not to say there are certain members who fudge a little to get legal protection despite not agreeing with their conservative Christian beliefs)

They also fight legislation to ban spanking.

I wish there was a legal defense organigation that was secular based. Many join not so much for the religious beliefs but to protect themselves, and honestly, the name of HSLDA does carry weight with the authorities. They are aware that HSLDA has enough resources to fight back and win, so they can get scared into backing off.

I would be surprised if people didn't understand what they were joining when they joined, but maybe this post will help them think about it differently.

I am no longer a member but I do still get the emails. When I saw the email on the "sanctity of marriage", I did the







: and deleted it.

I don't think it will hurt to email, but I honestly don't think it will do anything. They are by nature a conservative Christian group. It is like emailing the Catholic Church to ask them to stop advocating against gay marriage. Sorry to be so cynical.


----------



## Alvenchrst (Feb 3, 2003)

You go sleeping queen!! Not saying wether I agree or disagree, I'm just glad that someone has the guts to stand up for what they believe in, in such an adverse and condicending setting. She's entiled to her own opinion as you are yours, so don't slam her just because you don't agree.

Okay go ahead. I'm waiting for you all to quote me and say how horrible and wrong I am. That's what this forum is for anyway right? We all only have one opinion and if anyone disagrees with us they deserve to be ripped apart on the board.


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

I'm just glad that someone has the guts to stand up for what they believe in,

Thank you that is what I'm doing here.


----------



## Alvenchrst (Feb 3, 2003)

I know you are all standing up for what you believe in, and I supoort that. I just ment I was proud of SQ for standing when nobody around her agreed. It's easy to "stand up" when everyone around you is standing too, but a lot more difficult when you are the only one. I just saw a lot of disrespect towards her and I don't think it was approriate. Anyhow, I think I'll unsubscribe from this thread because I am getting wwwwaaaaaayyyyy







off topic. Sorry!


----------



## kama'aina mama (Nov 19, 2001)

Oh the Dra-Ma... people being rriippppppped apart. Honestly.







:


----------



## anothermama (Nov 11, 2003)

Quote:

_Originally posted by Alvenchrst_
*You go sleeping queen!! Not saying wether I agree or disagree, I'm just glad that someone has the guts to stand up for what they believe in, in such an adverse and condicending setting. She's entiled to her own opinion as you are yours, so don't slam her just because you don't agree.

Okay go ahead. I'm waiting for you all to quote me and say how horrible and wrong I am. That's what this forum is for anyway right? We all only have one opinion and if anyone disagrees with us they deserve to be ripped apart on the board.







*

All I'll say is that this is the most BLATANTLY BAITING post I've EVER seen 'round these parts....doesn't that warrant deletion???

Just askin'......


----------



## anothermama (Nov 11, 2003)

Wow....I'm really shocked about that and thanks for posting this link.....I'll send off my email as well. I have friend who homeschool and I wonder if they even know about this...hrm....

Thanks for posting.


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

apparently some people are having a problem understanding that this is a call to action thread. If anyone doesn't understand what that means they should scroll back to page 1 and reread the activism mod Adina's post as it adresses this issue.


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

bumping

http://www.hslda.us/

how much do you know about HSLDA?

(thanks to a fellow member for posting the link to this site on another thread)


----------



## sleeping queen (Nov 10, 2003)

Arduinna, thanks for reminding us this is a call to action board.


----------



## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Now, SQ, I am fairly certain you realize that is the same as pro-choice people getting on a pro-life thread and saying, "Thanks for reminding me to send in $ to Planned Parenthood."

Can't have it both ways.


----------



## sadie_sabot (Dec 17, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by sleeping queen_
*Out of curiosity , is everyone here also in favor of polygamy?*
must...not...rise...to...bait...must... exercise...restraint

must...not...make...snarky...comment...

http://mothering.com/discussions/sho...hreadid=130702

(where's the fish taking thebait smiley???)
















this stuff drives me crazy. I am now weighing the pros and cons of choosing to homeschool my dd, and one of my biggest hesitations is that much of the homeschooling community will be, um, EXTREMELY INTOLERANT of my life, my beliefs, my family, and that it will be challenging to find similar minded home schooling community.

Hmmm, maybe someone or some homeschool group that already exists could start some sort of legal service for non-christian homeschooler-- or homeschoolers who are christian but not, um, aggressive about their religious stuff.


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

more links about this group

UU's against HSLDA
http://www.uuhomeschool.org/pub-040217-01.php3

Xian reconstructionist views
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Del...nstruction.html
http://www.pitt.edu/~mmcclure/NEA/lugg.html

work of the pres of HSLDA
http://www.homestead.com/barbooch/WhitePaper.html

protecting HS rights
[http://expage.com/page/howmanyhsers
http://expage.com/page/whostole

Home Education Mag
http://www.home-ed-magazine.com/HEM/HEM165.99_art.html


----------



## Piglet68 (Apr 5, 2002)

alvenchrst: everybody here is entitled to express their opinions no matter how much in the minority they are...but if you can't express them with respect and without coming across as a homophobe with the gift of hyperbole then we prefer you to zip it.

hey SQ: what's wrong with polygamy? Hey, if it was good enough for the Old Testament prophets, it's good enough for me! :LOL

back to the OP.... It ticks me off, but then what do you expect from an organization composed largely of conservative christians. I don't really see the point in writing to them. if anything, it simply highlights a deeper issue, which is the secular versus fundamentalist religion aspects of homeschooling culture.


----------



## Dragonfly (Nov 27, 2001)

..


----------



## Dragonfly (Nov 27, 2001)

..


----------



## Dragonfly (Nov 27, 2001)

..


----------



## Dragonfly (Nov 27, 2001)

..

(sorry for the serial dots.... I took the bait.







)


----------



## Dragonfly (Nov 27, 2001)

Quote:

_Originally posted by Arduinna_
*Because most home schoolers teach their children at home in order to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, our right to freely exercise our religious beliefs is paramount.*
Is that even true? I know a lot of homeschoolers, and a small minority of them are Christian. Most are homeschooling because they are disgusted by what happens to a lot of children who go through the public school system.


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

you're taking that quote way out of context. First off I didn't say it. That quote came from the link to the page from HSLDA that I posted.

It was their words, not mine.

you might want to go back to page one ( I had to search for that post because I wrote it two months ago) and click on the link and read the full text that the quote came from.


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

here I posted it for you, but the link from the original post contains even more

Religious Freedom Is Endangered But States Are Fighting Back

by Christopher J. Klicka, Esq. Senior Counsel for
Home School Legal Defense Association

One of the goals of the Home School Legal Defense Association is to work in the Federal and State legislatures and the courts to protect our right to freely exercise our religious beliefs. Because most home schoolers teach their children at home in order to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, our right to freely exercise our religious beliefs is paramount.

Unfortunately, on June 25, 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 6-3 majority, ruled the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) unconstitutional in City of Boerne v. Flores. This was a devastating blow to our religious freedom in this country.

The facts of the case are this: After the city of Boerne denied a building permit to a church because the church building was located in a historic district, Catholic Archbishop Flores of San Antonio appealed this decision arguing that this denial of the church's right to expand to accommodate its growing congregation violated the church's right to freely exercise its religious beliefs as protected by the RFRA. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the church and ,in the process, struck down the RFRA which was the highest level of protection of our religious liberty available.

Since this extremely harmful U.S. Supreme Court Boerne decision, state and federal courts have diminished religious freedom in many ways. For example:

the long-standing practice of pastor-laity confidentiality has been repeatedly violated;

a Catholic hospital was denied state accreditation for refusing to teach abortion techniques;

there have been conflicts with zoning ordinances, such as shutting down a church ministry to the homeless because it was located on the second floor of a building with no elevator; and

a church was prohibited by a local city ordinance from feeding more than 50 poor people per day.

The list goes on and on. This subtle erosion of our religious liberty by the courts who are applying the Boerne ruling is gradually removing one of the bedrock defenses of home schooling.

But there is hope.


----------



## Dragonfly (Nov 27, 2001)

Quote:

_Originally posted by Arduinna_
*you're taking that quote way out of context. First off I didn't say it. That quote came from the link to the page from HSLDA that I posted.*
No, I knew it was their quote, not yours. I'm wondering if that's been everyone else's perception of homeschoolers, because their claim doesn't gel with my experience.


----------



## Arduinna (May 30, 2002)

I don't know?


----------



## isismama (Mar 8, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by sadie_sabot_
this stuff drives me crazy. I am now weighing the pros and cons of choosing to homeschool my dd, and one of my biggest hesitations is that much of the homeschooling community will be, um, EXTREMELY INTOLERANT of my life, my beliefs, my family, and that it will be challenging to find similar minded home schooling community.
Me too. I have made the decision to homeschool but I am very afraid of getting together with homeschoolers in my city because I am worried that they will be right-wing Christians. As someone who supports children's rights and gay/lesbian rights and as someone who is a feminist and pagan, the idea of running into people like the folks in HSLDA upsets me a lot.

Is HSLDA the strongest national homeschooling group? Are there any alternatives to them in the U.S. (I'm in Canada but I'm just curious)? I feel very bad for the gay/lesbian and progressive homeschoolers that need legal support and can't find a non-right wing homeschooling group to advocate for them.

I'll be sending them an email, thanks for posting this!

B


----------



## RachelGS (Sep 29, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by sleeping queen_
*Well it is forced on me cost wise. If people in same sex marriage get same benefits, insurance, social security, then it costs the rest of us.

I don't believe the constitution ever said we coud redefine marriage. An institution that has been the same for thousands of years.

So should we protect polygamist, pediphiles, where do you draw the line.*








:










uke


----------



## PurpleBasil (Jan 28, 2004)

Quote:

So should we protect polygamist, pediphiles, where do you draw the line.
Are you asking?


----------



## veganmamma (Sep 10, 2002)

Quote:

_Originally posted by sadie_sabot_
*this stuff drives me crazy. I am now weighing the pros and cons of choosing to homeschool my dd, and one of my biggest hesitations is that much of the homeschooling community will be, um, EXTREMELY INTOLERANT of my life, my beliefs, my family, and that it will be challenging to find similar minded home schooling community.

Hmmm, maybe someone or some homeschool group that already exists could start some sort of legal service for non-christian homeschooler-- or homeschoolers who are christian but not, um, aggressive about their religious stuff.*
Well, I'm local and I want to homeschool dd and I share your beliefs. Plus our dds are like the exact same age! Also, I know some local homeschooling radicals, maybe not as radical as us, but close enough that they aren't a chore to hang out with!! They're even fun!

Arduinna, thanks for posting this. I didn't really want to open it because sometimes I feel overwhelmed by calls to action, yk as if I don't have enough on my plate as it is, but I'm glad I did. Besides I should suck it up and get busier.


----------



## hydrangea (Jun 5, 2002)

Dragonfly, I'm coming out of posting dormancy to share that my experience is like yours. I know a lot of homeschoolers, and very few of them homeschool for Christian reasons. Many that I know do happen to be Christian, but that is not the reason for their decision to homeschool.

I don't know where, but I have seen statistics that Christian homeschoolers are the biggest piece of the homeschooling pie, but that others are gaining on them.

One thing that the Christian homeschoolers have is organization and lobbying power. Most people doing it for other reasons, in my personal experience, are too independent to deal well with organization.


----------



## hydrangea (Jun 5, 2002)

Oh, and I wanted to post that I am not shocked about this at all. HSLDA is known as a Christian group. I have read about their bias for years.

The problem is that I don't think they make it clear to the media or prospective members that they are Christian. Therefore it seems like they are speaking for all homeschoolers when, in fact, it is only for a percentage.


----------



## Dar (Apr 12, 2002)

Equating pedophiles with polyamorous families is really offensive to me. Pedophiles are people who are using and abusing children to gratify their own sexual urges; poly families are generally a group of people who love each other, just like straight families or gay/lesbian families.

If you're looking for a national homeschooling organization without a conservative Christian agenda - or any agenda other then supporting homeschoolers and increasing public awareness about homeschooling - you may want to join The National Home Education Network . It's free, although donations are welcomed. They don't offer "free" legal counsel, but then, H$LDA's offer is fairly questionable and they may or may not do what they say they will, so... and, of course, 99.9% of the homeschoolers out there will never need legal help anyway.

Also, some state organizations offer free legal assistance, from a lawyer well-versed in the laws of your state. In California, you can joinHSC for about a third of the cost of H$LDA and get legal help, as well as lots of other things - and you support an organization that's about supporting *all* homeschoolers.

FWIW, I've known hundreds of homeschoolers, and I know of only two who ever were members of H$LDA - and one was only a member for a year, until she saw what else was out there. There are tons of non-HSLDA homeschoolers out there...they don't represent me or the people I know, and I don't support them.

Dar


----------



## Tigerchild (Dec 2, 2001)

Quote:

_Originally posted by sleeping queen_
*Out of curiosity , is everyone here also in favor of polygamy?*
Thanks for asking! Actually, yes I am. I have been polyamorous for most of my adult life. I know many triads and more-ads who've been together for 20+ years. I would love to see them have the same protections as others. I've always thought (especially now that I have kids) that a poly household is ideal for childrearing. You could have two full time incomes AND at least one stay at home parent (if not more), and a built in loving extended family right in house.

Now, as to the OP...I guess this doesn't suprise me much. I knew the HSLDA was reactionary Christian. HSing is becoming so popular you'd think that there could be a breakaway group. All it would need is some volunteer lawyers and an information system. I mean, there's no point to whining if one's not willing to stick out their necks to start it. The HSLDA didn't become influential overnight, and to be honest since they've paved the way a secular or more tolerant group should have an easier time of it.


----------



## CerridwenLorelei (Aug 28, 2002)

I dropped them after I found NHEN. And after they decided a Christian friend 'wasn't the right type of Christian " and terminated her membership
two weeks later in a large ( size wise) homeschool magazine there was an ad for HSLDA that said they represented and took everyone "regardless of race or religion"
I found that to be very opposite of what they stand for and had just done


----------



## kimberlylibby (Dec 28, 2003)

This is a sad representation of Christians. I am very sad that HSLDA has even chosen to fight this battle. It is not their area and not their issue.










It doesn't help further the cause of Christ... it makes people see Christians as intolerant.









Regardless of my opinions on homosexuality, homosexual marriage, and the like... as a Christian who intends to homeschool, I am sad that HSLDA can't stick to homeschooling as their issue. It's not "Uptight Christian Legal Defense Association"... it's HOMESCHOOL Legal Defense Asssociation.

Kimberly


----------

