Opponent proves contrary

Mr. Reno’s inaccurate and irrational letter opposing Senate Bill 5395 serves well to demonstrate why the important subject of sex education should not be completely left to the whims and foibles of parental control. Reno’s either misreading or intentional distortion of Shawn Vestal’s recent column on the subject demonstrates incompetence and/or unreliability. None of the “presumptions and inconsistencies” that he attributes to Vestal are valid.

Furthermore, none of his sweeping claims (e.g. “parents are disgusted,” “Students are already bombarding each other with genital Snapchats,” etc.) are substantiated. And then there is his rhetorical question, “Aren’t …STD’s declining?” Contrary to this claim, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated, “Combined cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia reached an all-time high in the United States in 2018.”

Mentalities like Reno’s well illustrates why society should not leave to the vagaries of chance and narrow partisan views the welfare of her future citizens. Read the Bill. It is circumspect, focused and relevant.

Peter Grossman

Spokane