I was shone this photo in my class Essential Community yesterday, and was mortified.  On the left, you see the latest cover of "US Weekly" with Elton John and his partner, David Furnish, and their new baby.  On the right, you see the magazine with a "Family Shield" over the front in a convenience store in Arkansas.  Usually, this shield is used for pornography covers or covers with expletives.  Is this photo really worthy of an obscenity shield?  What are the messages that those customers are getting from this?  What about the kids in this small town who are struggling with their sexual identities?  When they see something like this, the messages they internalize are ones of condemnation and contempt.  They see this and think, "I am alone."

A brief interview from a news source wrote this:

I spoke with Harps Corporate Executive Assistant Marty Yarborough, who told me that every Harps store is equipped with these shields and that they get put up whenever customers complain about the content of a magazine cover. She said the word from the store about this particular cover was that “several” customers had complained, so the shield went up. She also confirmed that these shields are utilized on a store-by-store basis, so the magazine would not have been covered up at any of the other Harps locations, unless customers complained there as well. She also told me that the usage of the shield on this particular cover is “in no way our opinion on this issue.” She quickly added, “we do not have an opinion on this issue.”

Read more: http://bumpshack.com/2011/01/26/elton-johns-us-magazine-cover-banned-from-arkansas-store/#ixzz1CujA5YLc

No matter where you or your family stands on homosexuality, it seems that we could stand to use a few reminder lessons in integrity.  Democrat or republican, liberal or conservative, we are called to bring honor and dignity to ourselves and one another - and I believe we can do so, even when our opinions are different!  That's the beauty of diversity.