Watch him cave and quit "so as not to be a distraction to the Administration". I'm calling it right now.

Jennings is a tough guy, dedicated to the proposition that schools should provide a safe learning environment for all students. He won't cave.

Jennings needs to stay. Enough of this hyperventilating over staff that doesn't fit into the GOPs belief system. This is all about homophobia. If the kid was of the age of consent then Jennings did nothing wrong.

If all the minority groups (in particular blacks, immigrants, and gays)targeted by Faux News banned together and staged a boycott against it's sponsors, this would whole witch hunt of the Obama Admin. would be nipped in the bud.

How much loyalty has the Obama Administration demonstrated to it's appointee's or the party itself. The prospects of depending on the support from this president in times of need are so far unproven. Good luck to Mr. Jennings.

I registered for the express purpose of posting this comment.

I'm a 23 year old gay man. I emerged relatively unscathed from my Rhode Island high school in 2005. I was called a faggot here and there; but always felt safe at school in large part because Kevin Jennings had worked tirelessly on behalf of GLBT youth like me for years and years.

Jennings started the first Gay/Straight Alliance. He was the founding president of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. He edited the first textbook on LGBT history. He helped make safe-schools policy in Massachusetts that influenced my Rhode Island high school. He is one of the really really good guys and personal hero of mine.

This isn't about a 20-year old judgment call. It's about showing off the power of anti-gay bigotry by singling out a gay man to be thrown under the bus. If Jennings gets fired or "resigns," I'm totally done with the Democrats.

Kevin Jennings came to speak several times to our high school while he was director of GLSTN. A better person could not have been picked for the job he now holds. May he and the administration stand strong against these frenzied and misguided attacks and character assasinations.

Umm...Ok, maybe I'm just a rebel, but...Since when is expressing disdain for a religion you don't believe in or traditional values you don't follow a crime? These people are just mad that he's not having his gay sex in bathrooms like they do.

Bailey Wu, I'm with you.

If Kevin Jenings, whom I know from the days when I did AIDS prevention work in Massachusetts schools, is "allowed" to resign, or gets thrown under that proverbial bus, I am done with Obama and the Democrats myself.

I really bought the hope and change stuff. I know there is always a big reality check shift when a campaign with al its promises ends and governamce begins. It's inevitable to some extent.

But, unless Obama is going to pull some kind of rabbit out of hat on a number of issue, espexially in terms getting a public health insurance option passed, the more I watch, the more I think all the talk of genuine "hope" and genuine "change" has been sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.

If Jennings goes, I'm, figuratively speaking, going with him too.

Obama loved the all money, the support, and the volunteers the gay community threw his way during the campaign. If he doesn't stand by Jenning now, he and the Democratic party will never see another dime of my paltry political donations. But you know, I am begining to think they really don'e even care.

how sad is that?

Since it appears that Jennings will dodge the "mandated reporter" bullet in re:Brewster, we may anticipate a paroxysm of chagrin from the haters, followed by a reprise of the Acorn sting, this time involving a platoon of underage (varying, no doubt, by jurisdiction, so as to make the younger partner in the sexual interaction just boderline young enough to trigger a reporting obligation) "troubled teens" pouring ever more lurid tales out to concerned guidance counselors.

The resultant fall out will no doubt set back the cause of good mental health by several centuries, as counselors lawyer up and all troubled youth become suspect stingers.

By the way, who else here on this blog will stand with Jennings and support NAMBLA?

Straight from the horse's mouth...tapes from a high school GLSEN conference in Massachusetts.

http://www.massresistance.org/docs/issues/fistgate/tape01.html

Instructions in 'fisting,' 'swallowing', etc. to 12-14 year olds. Spin this anwyay you wish. The tapes speak for themselves.

Also, seriously-- NAMBLA references?

Go away you crazy anti-gay coot.

Or it could be the possibility that kids today are far, far, far, more aware in general of sex and have knowledge of specific sex acts than kids did in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Of course, you can't exactly survey kids in wide-scale about this.

But please, don't apply the values of Conservative trolls who came of age during the previous generations to today's youth, and today's 20-40 year old populations, who really are demographically and culturally far, far different than the present 40-60 year old and older American populace.

What is relevant are the circumstances. Jennings himself didn't actually do anything to anyone-- he didn't have an inappropriate relationship with a student-- the only criticism that is accurate here is that 20+ years ago Jennings didn't do enough to intervene in a student's life when a student confided in him. Jennings has acknowleged as much. He admitted that he was new and didn't know how to handle the situation.

Mark Foley? He actively persued very young male pages whom he had a employer-employee relationship with, other congress people knew about it and tried to ignore it. It was a totally inappropriate relationship, there are very clear rules and laws against what he attempted to do from an employment perspective. Why did people focus on it? Because of the hypocrisy-- the very anti-gay GOP has a closeted gay congressman hitting on teenage interns? Same reason that Congressman Wide Stance got so much attention. It's the hypocrisy, stupid.

What is "homosexual promotion"? Is that like the "homosexual agenda"? Is it acknowlging that gay and lesbian people and relationships exist? Is it discussing safer sex practices with teenagers who might be engaging in them? Not to mention that any parent who wants to can always have their kids opt-out of any and all sex education classes. It's hardly something parents don't have an awful lot of control over.