For Kids' Sake - Ben, what's your professional take on Ron Fanelle, the Camarillo, California middle school teacher who landed in hot water after confirming to his students rumors that he had recently wed his same-sex partner in San Francisco?

In a state where being gay is a protected class under employment discrimination laws, and where ballot initiative battles were once fought (and lost) trying to bar homosexuals from public school jobs, I find it remarkable that the right of a teacher to be out in the workplace could possibly be challenged. Yet the Pleasant Valley school board is investigating the incident, apparently with an eye to imposing rules on personal disclosures by gay teachers. Meanwhile, Fanelle is getting legal assistance from the CTA and NCLR.

Sounds like an interesting intersection of First Amendment rights, non-discrimination law, and the oh-so-touchy subject of sex education. (Gotta protect the kids from that evil ho-mo-sexual agenda!)