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53 House GOP Members Call for Jennings’ Resignation

By Alyson Klein — October 16, 2009 1 min read
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So the Kevin Jennings controversy is just not going away. The latest? A group of 53 House Republicans has signed a letter to President Barack Obama calling for Jennings, who heads up the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education, to resign.

The letter, which is posted here, reads in part:

The totality of Mr. Jennings' career has been to advocate for public affirmation of homosexuality. There is more to safe and drug free schools than can be accomplished from the narrow view of Mr. Jennings, who has, for more than 20 years, almost exclusively focused on promoting the homosexual agenda.

The letter goes on to reference an incident that occurred more than two decades ago, when Mr. Jennings was a high school teacher. A sophomore told him he had gone home with an older man he met in a bus station. Jennings said he told the boy, “I hope you knew to use a condom.”

Jennings has since referenced the incident in a speech to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, which he founded. So far, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has stood by Jennings, “honored to have him on our team.” And some education groups, including the National Association of School Psychologists, also have come to his defense.