October 6, 2009 | Sex & Society

Decades old safe sex talk threatens job

The US conservative attack dogs are relentless, digging up anything they might possibly twist into a "scandal" to discredit the Obama administration.

The latest: Kevin Jennings, the current head of the US Education Department's Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools says that as a teacher he once gave safe sex advise to a 16-year-old student. The young man was having a relationship with an older man and confided in Jennings about the situation; Jennings told the boy about the risk of AIDS and suggested he use a condom. This was 21 years ago.

Jennings wrote about the incident in the 1994 book 'One Teacher in Ten: Gay and Lesbian Educators Tell Their Stories.' And now that he's working for Obama, his innocent and honest advice has come back to haunt him.

Even though the boy was at the age of consent, conservative groups are charging that Jennings had a responsibility to tell the boy's parents.

Well, the student - known only as Brewster - said the advice helped him become "a proud gay man." [click MORE to read on] 

He released the following statement: "Since I was of legal consent at the time, the 15-minute conversation I had with Mr Jennings 21 years ago is of nobody's concern but his and mine. However, since the Republican noise machine is so concerned about my 'well-being' and that of America's students, they'll be relieved to know that I was not 'inducted' into homosexuality, assaulted, raped, or sold into sexual slavery.

"In 1988, I had taken a bus home for the weekend, and on the return trip met someone who was also gay. The next day, I had a conversation with Mr Jennings about it. I had no sexual contact with anybody at the time, though I was entirely legally free to do so. I was a 16-year-old going through something most of us have experienced: adolescence. I find it regrettable that the people who have the compassion and integrity to protect our nation's students are themselves in need of protection from homophobic smear attacks. Were it not for Mr Jennings' courage and concern for my well-being at that time in my life, I doubt I'd be the proud gay man that I am today."

Yeah. So there!

Lawmaker calls on Obama to fire official in gay sex ed controversy [Washington Examiner]

Former student supports gay White House staffer over condom comment [Pink News]