Programs and Events

Forum Held on Sex; What They Don't Tell You. Why Wait for Marriage?
Click for video coverage on Christian Broadcast Network (CBN)

Believing that youth should know how important it is to abstain from sex before marriage, ULTRA Teen Choice held a forum Monday night at Mt. Bethel Baptist Church entitled Sex; What They Don't Tell You. Why Wait for Marriage? as part of Abstinence Awareness Week, March 6 to March 12.

They don't tell you that 1 in 16 teen girls 15 to 19 years old gets pregnant each year in DC, said guest speaker Tara White, author of Don't Curse Your Wedding Bed Before You Say I Do, who is now on a mission to help singles understand the value of abstinence.

I am happy to talk about the benefits of waiting for marriage, she said, pointing out that abstinence is the only sure prevention, one of the advantages. Forty-two percent of DC high school students have never had sex, she reported.

From left: Vernial Batts, Jose Ferette, Richard Urban, Derrick Cuffie, Alicia Taylor, Teresa Sule, Erica Smith

View more pictures on Flickr

Legislation and Governance

DC Council At-Large Candidates Support Abstinence-centered Sex Ed

From L. Tom Brown, Bryan Weaver, Alan Page

Tom Brown, Alan Page and Bryan Weaver attended the DC Council At-Large Candidates forum hosted by ULTRA Teen Choice on March 10, 2011. Tom Brown and Bryan Weaver indicated that abstinence centered sex education should be an available option for DC public school youth. Mr. Brown said that it is a travesty that the District government spends no money to promote sexual abstinence as an HIV prevention method. The forum was moderated by Robert Brannum. You can find the candidates answers to the ULTRA Teen Choice Candidate Questionnaire at the ULTRA Teen Choice website(Click here for candidate information). We will also be posting video of the candidates answers to questions
on HIV prevention, school vouchers, and other issues, as well as an analysis of all candidates positions on abstinence education, HIV prevention, same sex marriage, and other health issues.

There are eight candidates vying for the seat vacated by newly elected Council Chair Kwame Brown, and currently held by appointed councilman Sekou Biddle (who did not attend this forum). The candidates not attending were Sekou Biddle, Dorothy Douglas, Arkan Haile, Joshua Lopez, Patrick Mara and Vincent Orange.

Same Sex Marriage Defeated in Maryland

After a concerted lobbying campaign, the bill to legalize same sex marriage in Maryland was pulled from the legislative agenda after failing to muster enough votes to pass. Legislators received hundreds of calls, plus visits from concerned citizens who did not support same sex marriage. Legislators, such as Prince Georges county house of delegates representative Tiffany Alston, said that calls were running seven to one against same sex marriage.

Although Miss Alston was a co-sponsor of the legislation, she voted against it because her constituents did not want it.