Steven Gunderson: “All right; I reclaim my time because I think my colleagues see the problem. No matter how good the intentions might be…”

“All right; I reclaim my time because I think my colleagues see the problem. No matter how good the intentions might be verbally, the problem is, if we adopt the Hancock amendment by itself, it has the effect of prohibiting school counseling and guidance, it has the effect of prohibiting AIDS education. Now I put myself second to none in, quote unquote, advocating Christian values around here, and I am aware of the flyer that is here. But I am going to plead with all my colleagues on this amendment to have the courage of their convictions and to recognize that as of January of this year 63,000 young people between the ages of 20 to 29, and most medical people say that means every one of those 63,000 was infected with AIDS while they were teenagers, and I ask my colleagues simply: How many kids do we have to kill before we have the courage to stand up and say it's time to educate them and to do what is right, not what is politically popular at that moment?”