SAFE SEX, DANGEROUS MESSAGE

For an evangelical Christian, I consider myself fairly socially moderate. But even I had to blush a little when I heard about New York City's "Get Some" campaign to hand out its branded condoms on Valentine's Day. As a local Catholic leader put it, "The idea of 'get some' is a morally irresponsible sound bite. "We're worried about trans fats, we're worried about second-hand smoke, and yet when it comes to sexually transmitted disease, we can't bring ourselves to tell people it's time to practice restraint."

Yes, safe sex is an important public policy issue; and yes, provocative advertising is effective; and no, I'm not going to say abstinence-only campaigns should be the sole message on this issue. But, clever marketing aside, this is a dangerous message to broadcast and a dangerous way to broadcast it.