Kameron Slade, a fifth-grader at
William Haberle (PS 195) school in Queens, New York, was told he
could not give a speech on gay marriage.
Kameron's speech won him a class
competition and the young speechwriter was slated to deliver it in a
school-wide contest.
But his mother told NY1 that principal
Beryl Bailey refused to allow Kameron to speak on the subject, saying
it was inappropriate.
“For him to be denied the right to
voice his opinion really upsets me,” the mother said.
“I was really looking forward to it,”
Kameron told NY1. “I thought that this was a real good winning
speech for tomorrow.”
In the speech, Kameron said he agrees
with President Obama on the subject.
“Like President Obama, I believe that
all people should have the right to marry whoever they want.
Marriage is about love, support and commitment.”
He added that some adults may “feel
uncomfortable and think it's inappropriate to talk about this to
children.”
“I think adults must realize that as
children get older, they become aware of these mature issues that are
going on in the world. If children read or watch the news, they can
learn about things like same-gender marriage, so what's the point in
trying to hide it?”
“I believe that same-gender marriage
should be accepted worldwide and that parents and teachers should
start to discuss these issue without shame to their children.”
NY1 reported that the New York City
Department of Education would permit Kameron to give his speech
Monday in a separate venue. (A video report is embedded in the right
panel of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)