Hillary Vows to Fight School Vouchers

THE CATHOLIC LEAGUE, Feb. 7—Hillary Rodham Clinton started her candidacy for the U.S. Senate Feb. 6 by sending the “wrong message to Catholics,” said the New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

Addressing an audience at the state university in Purchase, Clinton said, “I'll be on your side in the fight against school vouchers, which drain taxpayer dollars from our public schools.” However, the League noted, Clinton had told 100 Orthodox Jewish leaders Dec. 17 that she would back certain “constitutionally correct” methods for government to help private schools.

Catholic League president William Donohue noted that politicians who denounce vouchers sometimes imply that the Church supports vouchers because they provide a way to drain money from public schools.

“Now Mrs. Clinton is at it, only this time her ‘fight against vouchers’ campaign comes on the heels of promising to deliver on offering public assistance to private schools,” said Donohue. “She needs to make up her mind on this issue and she needs to do so without offending Catholic sensibilities.”

By providing educational funds directly to parents rather than to public schools, school vouchers can enable the parents to send their children to the school of their choice — public or private.

Homosexual Groups Sprouting in High Schools

THE NEW YORK TIMES, Feb. 10—A school district in suburban California wants to stop a group of homosexual high-school students from meeting on school property, but so far a lawsuit and a judge have gotten in the way, reports the Times.

Federal district judge David Carter said that the school district in Orange, Calif., could not prohibit the students from their First Amendment right to free speech. The district insists the group is not appropriate for school since it discusses sexuality.

The school district is considering ending all 38 non-curricular clubs in order to adhere to the judge's orders rather than allow the homosexual group to remain on school grounds, the Times reported. The school district in Salt Lake City took such an action in response to a homosexual group and the ensuing lawsuit is in the courts.

The Times reported that homosexual groups are growing rapidly across the country. They cite statistics from a pro-homosexual group, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which estimates that 600 such groups exist in schools nationwide.