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I’ve been reading lately that Peggy Bennett is too nice to be an effective representative for 27A. Don’t we want our representatives to be nice?

Well, not always. I recently attended a meeting put on by Peggy in which she was trying to get support to have comprehensive sex ed taken out of the education bill. At the meeting she said she sometimes thinks of herself as “Mama Bear” when it comes to children and so she would like to have them protected from this new sex-ed that she thought just went to far. I looked up the bill and found four major themes.

1. Human anatomy and sexual development.

2. Consent, bodily autonomy and healthy relationships for all sexual orientations and gender identities.

3. Abstinence and other methods of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

4. The relationship between substance abuse and sexual behavior and health.

All were to be taught at appropriate age levels. Knowledge is powerful, we do not need to be protected from it.

We all feel like “Mama Bear” when it comes to children, that is why we become sickened when we hear about a child drowning, a child’s sexual abuse or a child being bullied. We can not protect them from any of these entirely, but educating them is a good start. Having access to comprehensive sex-ed is as empowering to them as having swimming lessons and teaching them to stick up for themselves. If Peggy gets squeamish about the topics covered in sex-ed, then yes, I believe she is too nice to be an effective representative.

Susan Runden

Hayward, MN