Indiana lawmaker Bob Morris is convinced that Girl Scout troops are a sexually-promiscuous front for Planned Parenthood who endorse lesbian, feminist, and communist agendas. Morris discovered this shocking revelation by talking to some “knowledgeable constituents” and “a small amount of Web-based research.”
A knowledgeable constituent performs a small amount of Web-based research on behalf of state representative Bob Morris.
He added that we should “pause before our individual and collective endorsement of the organization” because a Colorado troop allowed a transgender child among their ranks, and that the First Lady Michelle Obama is the Girl Scouts of America’s honorary president.
On Tuesday he told the Associated Press that he stood by his remarks, but then on Wednesday he wrote in an editorial that his comments were “emotional, reactionary, and inflammatory.” In his remarks he apologized to Girl Scout troops who run their organization in a manner that he finds respectable. (Note that he did not apologize for his crass and bigoted remarks, but instead, admitted that not all troops are like that). Morris said that he still would not sign the resolution honoring Girl Scouts of America’s 100th birthday, writing “my conscience would not allow me to publicly endorse an organization that partners with Planned Parenthood – our State’s leading abortion provider.”
Bob Morris may not be aware that Planned Parenthood is his state’s largest abortion provider because it’s one of the only ones. He also may not be aware that Planned Parenthood only has four locations in the entire state that offers abortion services, which are a crucial component of reproductive health.
State Rep. Bob Morris follows up on the activities of a troop of 8 yr-old communists.
Planned Parenthood’s partnership with Girl Scouts of America in 2004 was a way to promote sex education among young women who otherwise would not learn anything about sex until they entered into a sexual relationship. This partnership was a response to the failings of the Bush administration’s abstinence-only sex-ed requirement. Given that Indiana does not require local districts to offer sex education in their curriculum, the best case for conservative Indiana teenagers to learn about safe sex practices is never – unless they take matters into their own hands and do the research themselves.
Planned Parenthood consistently recognizes that sex education is an absolute necessity for our health and well-being, and that trying to hide our children’s eyes from sex by not allowing them to learn about it only pushes them toward unprotected and uninformed sexual activity. And it seems more than reasonable for branches of an organization dedicated to raising girls to be capable and independent would choose to form a partnership with Planned Parenthood. Bob Morris needs to reconsider how he’s coming to his conclusions – and more importantly for his campaign, how well he can backpedal out of the PR disaster of slandering two of America’s most beloved women-centered institutions. And if he can’t, it spells certain disaster for his 2012 campaign for reelection.