[Donut]

And of course there is always Section 28




Labour faces Lords defeat on Section 28 alternative
By Andrew Sparrow, Political Correspondent
(Filed: 10/07/2003)

Opposition peers are expected to defeat the Government today by backing a proposal for an alternative to the controversial Section 28.

The House of Lords will vote on a Tory amendment designed to replace Section 28, the law stopping local authorities from promoting homosexuality, with a new clause giving parents the power to object to inappropriate sex education.

Lady Blatch, the Tory deputy leader in the Lords, said the proposal would have the advantage of covering heterosexual and homosexual material, and that as a result its supporters could not be dismissed as "homophobic".

Gay rights campaigners detest Section 28 and Labour tried to scrap it during its first term in office. It failed because the Lords would not accept its abolition.

A fresh attempt was made when the Local Government Bill was going through the Commons earlier this year and the Bill, which originally had nothing to do with sex education, was amended to include the repeal of Section 28.

Today the Tories will propose an amendment that would theoretically enable parents to stop schools using sex education material they considered inappropriate.

Lady Blatch said Section 28 had worked as a deterrent but it had two important defects: it did not cover heterosexual material and, because it related to local authorities, did not cover leaflets and books produced for schoolchildren by "third parties", such as health authorities.