Kameron Slade, a fifth-grader at
William Haberle (PS 195) school in Queens, New York, has given his
gay marriage speech to the New York City Council.
While Kameron's speech won him a class
competition, he was told by his principal that he could not deliver
it in a school-wide contest because the subject is “inappropriate.”
He was allowed to give his speech at a separate venue.
Kameron delivered his speech to the
city council surrounded by openly gay members Christine Quinn and
Jimmy Van Bramer, who
is set to marry on Saturday.
In the speech, Kameron said he agrees
with President Obama on marriage equality.
“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.”
(Watch
video of Kameron giving his speech at the New York Times.)