That's Gov. Patrick's message to Bay State teenagers.
Governor Deval Patrick wants to end state-sponsored , abstinence-only sex education in Massachusetts, a year after Governor Mitt Romney ordered the Department of Public Health to redirect a long-standing federal abstinence grant to classes that focus exclusively on encouraging teenagers to avoid sexual encounters.Patrick proposed forgoing the $700,000 grant, which the state has received since 1998, joining at least six other states in rebelling against increasingly restrictive federal mandates about how the money can be used.
Patrick's policy change, proposed in his budget, has met resistance in the House, where Democratic leaders restored the funding in the budget plan that came to the floor yesterday at the start of a week-long debate.
Hey, remember when black Christian ministers in Massachusetts were all in favor of abstinence education? Do you think they'll complain now? Oops, I forgot--all of those geniuses backed Patrick! My bad...
UPDATE: More from Michael Graham and the Herald.
SECOND UPDATE: More from Jessica Fargen and Frank Phillips.