This is America, right? Where we have freedom of speech (no matter how woefully ignorant that speech may be sometimes) and the ability to think freely?

(Salt Lake City, Utah) A conservative political action group that regularly fights LGBT issues has asked Utah's Attorney General to investigate a suburban school for allowing a student to publish two pro-gay articles in a student newspaper.

On Nov. 17, when a Gay-Straight Alliance formed at Lone Peak High School in Highland, about 25 miles from Salt Lake City, the student run newspaper, The Crusader, ran two news stories on the GSA - one pro, one con.

The story supporting the organization was written by student Sarah Brimhall. The article opposing it was penned by Elsie Graham, the daughter of Stephen Graham, president of the Standard of Liberty Foundation.

Then on May 15, Brimhall wrote an article on human papilloma virus for the paper. Human papilloma virus can be spread by sexual contact.

In her opinion piece she wrote that teaching abstinence is not enough to prevent the spread of HPV.

"The promotion of abstinence is placed above the prevention of a disease that claims thousands of lives each year,'' she wrote.

Graham and his group say the two stories by Brimhall violate a Utah law that prohibits schools from allowing any activity that results in students revealing information concerning their sexual behavior, orientation or attitudes and a law that requires schools stress abstinence and not advocate homosexuality or sexual activity outside of marriage.

"Sex activists are targeting kids,'' Graham told the Associated Press. "They know that high school newspapers can be highly effective carriers of anti-parent, pro-sex propaganda. School administrators are either complicit or clueless.''

Principal Chip Koop defends the student articles.

"We've had the Alpine School District advise us on where lines are and what we need to be careful about, so we try to do our best to do that, and at the same time allow students some freedom to investigate topics that are important to them,'' he told the AP.

Graham also has asked the the state Office of Education to investigate.

Carol Lear, director of school law and legislation at the state Office of Education, said she does not plan to investigate the articles. There has been no response from the Attorney General's office.


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