Teh One Who Knocks
09-15-2011, 12:45 PM
Tammy Vigil - FOX31 Denver
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – You know those Gideon Bibles you find in hotel rooms? The same group has been handing out Bibles in front of a middle school in Fort Collins, and some parents say they have issue with the way the Gideon representatives were doing it.
“I wasn’t too happy when I heard what they were doing,” says a mother of a seventh grader, who wanted to remain anonymous.
Some parents say Gideon International representatives used bad judgment in handing out the Good Book.
“They shouldn’t be giving it (a bible) to kids. They should go through the parents first,” says the unidentified mom.
It happened on the sidewalk in front of Webber Middle School as classes ended Monday. Students say the representatives not only blocked the sidewalk, but they were taking pictures of students.
One 11-year-old sixth grader wanted one of the pocket-sized New Testament Bibles.
“As I was on my way out, I got in line to get one. My mom was over by the cars. She said, ‘No, don’t get one,’ and I listened to her,” says the boy, whose mother didn’t want him identified.
His mom says religion is a personal issue for kids to talk about with their families--not strangers.
Other parents objected to strangers targeting unsupervised children and giving them gifts--which they say disregards parental authority.
“Strangers approaching middle schoolers. I don’t like it,” says DJ May, the father of a seventh grader. “They need to go across the street or somewhere away from the school.”
But the district says the Gideon representatives have a First Amendment right to be there.
“It’s not a school issue. It’s a community issue. It happened outside the school day and outside the school building, and not on our property but on public property,” says Poudre School District spokesperson Danielle Clark.
The district says the Gideon's proselytizing has never been a problem in the many years they’ve done it.
And some parents say the encounter is a lesson for her kids to learn outside the classroom.
“It is going to happen where ever they go. They are going to be uncomfortable situations they don’t like. At least here, they are safe,” says Sheree Sickler, a mother of two Webber students.
But others think the Gideons should stick to leaving their propaganda in hotel rooms.
A local Gideon representative said he couldn’t speak to us and the corporate office did not return a phone call for a comment.
Some parents also say it was wrong the school did not alert parents that Gideon representatives would be visiting—even though school officials knew they were coming a week in advance.
They say they would have like to have been able to talk to their kids about it.
The district says they will meet with the Gideon representatives next year to talk about the proper way to approach kids.
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – You know those Gideon Bibles you find in hotel rooms? The same group has been handing out Bibles in front of a middle school in Fort Collins, and some parents say they have issue with the way the Gideon representatives were doing it.
“I wasn’t too happy when I heard what they were doing,” says a mother of a seventh grader, who wanted to remain anonymous.
Some parents say Gideon International representatives used bad judgment in handing out the Good Book.
“They shouldn’t be giving it (a bible) to kids. They should go through the parents first,” says the unidentified mom.
It happened on the sidewalk in front of Webber Middle School as classes ended Monday. Students say the representatives not only blocked the sidewalk, but they were taking pictures of students.
One 11-year-old sixth grader wanted one of the pocket-sized New Testament Bibles.
“As I was on my way out, I got in line to get one. My mom was over by the cars. She said, ‘No, don’t get one,’ and I listened to her,” says the boy, whose mother didn’t want him identified.
His mom says religion is a personal issue for kids to talk about with their families--not strangers.
Other parents objected to strangers targeting unsupervised children and giving them gifts--which they say disregards parental authority.
“Strangers approaching middle schoolers. I don’t like it,” says DJ May, the father of a seventh grader. “They need to go across the street or somewhere away from the school.”
But the district says the Gideon representatives have a First Amendment right to be there.
“It’s not a school issue. It’s a community issue. It happened outside the school day and outside the school building, and not on our property but on public property,” says Poudre School District spokesperson Danielle Clark.
The district says the Gideon's proselytizing has never been a problem in the many years they’ve done it.
And some parents say the encounter is a lesson for her kids to learn outside the classroom.
“It is going to happen where ever they go. They are going to be uncomfortable situations they don’t like. At least here, they are safe,” says Sheree Sickler, a mother of two Webber students.
But others think the Gideons should stick to leaving their propaganda in hotel rooms.
A local Gideon representative said he couldn’t speak to us and the corporate office did not return a phone call for a comment.
Some parents also say it was wrong the school did not alert parents that Gideon representatives would be visiting—even though school officials knew they were coming a week in advance.
They say they would have like to have been able to talk to their kids about it.
The district says they will meet with the Gideon representatives next year to talk about the proper way to approach kids.