Is San Francisco's Castro neighborhood appropriate for young kids?

Last week, second-graders from San Francisco's private all-boys Town School strolled through the Castro, the city's world-renowned gay district where a huge rainbow flag flies gloriously above Harvey Milk Plaza, according SF Chronicle.

The group of about four dozen boys, ages 7 and 8, was led by a reputable local historian who regularly leads walking tours of the Castro (and who asked to remain anonymous in this story).

The guide walked the boys by Pink Triangle Memorial Park, where 15 granite pylons rise above the ground in remembrance of the estimated 15,000 gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders who were persecuted, imprisoned and killed during and after the Nazi regime. A few other stops on the tour included the wildly colored Hope for the World Cure Mural, a pictorial depiction of the AIDS epidemic; the Human Rights Campaign Action Center, local headquarters for a civil rights organization promoting fairness for LGBT Americans; and Harvey Milk's camera shop, which the former gay activist and pioneering politician once lived above.
While the majority of the second-grade parents were in support of the field trip, the school is under fire by a handful of parents* who questioned whether the Castro is an appropriate destination for 8-year-old boys. One parent in particular reached out to SFGate and expressed frustration, anxiety, and confusion around the field trip, as well as a complex array of sentiments ranging from disapproval of teachers who told students that the word gay means "happy," to fears that the Castro community would be unwelcoming to children.

Last week, one of those parents contacted the CBS News desk and CBS 5 Eyewitness News featured a segment highlighting the controversy. The mother, who remained anonymous on the show, said: "Why would you talk to a young child about sex with a man and a woman let alone a man and a man or a woman and a woman? It just doesn't seem right. They are not ready for that."

Sexuality was not in fact a topic of discussion on the Town field trip. The neighborhood study focused on history, social and civil rights, the importance of diversity, and Harvey Milk. The school assured parents that the tour would be age appropriate and special care was put into selecting a guide with experience leading child-friendly tours.