Nebraskan parents pull kids from band trip, fearing Gay Days celebration

Several parents of Kearney High School band members in Nebraska have pulled their teenagers from a scheduled band trip to Orlando, Fla., that coincides with the city's "Gay Days." Shelly Rodehorst pulled her son, who is a senior percussionist, and daughter, a junior clarinet player, from the trip. "I wouldn't expose my kids to murderers or drug addicts. Why would I expose them to homosexual behavior," Rodehorst said. "I'm not protecting them. I'm making a statement to them that this kind of behavior is wrong," she said. Kearney High band instructors said only a few students have pulled out of the Florida trip because of Gay Days. However, Andy Melichar of Citizens for Equal Protection in Omaha said those parents' decision should not be taken lightly. The parents, "because of their own fears, have decided not to let their kids go. And who's really suffering is the kids," Melichar said.