Updated

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," October 31, 2007. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Well, cakes have been banned from school birthday parties. Candy was banned on Halloween. And yet, just last week, a school committee in Portland, Maine, voted to provide birth control to students as young as 11 without parental consent or knowledge.

Well, does this seem right? Joining us now is the host of "At Large", Geraldo.

I'm not quite clear where you stand on this. But you know, my issue is, frankly, birth control...

GERALDO RIVERA, HOST, "AT LARGE": I'm for cupcakes but against condoms.

COLMES: You're against.

I think what, but, you know, the difference is that birth control is good for you. It helps to prevent unwanted pregnancy.

RIVERA: Yes, but I have a 13-year-old. I don't want some school telling my daughter -- giving her birth control without asking her father.

COLMES: That's because you're a good dad. But there are some kids who don't feel comfortable with their -- going to their parents as the first line of communications.

RIVERA: That's fine. At a certain age, they should have the ability to reach out. And the age should be the age of statutory rape. I mean, that should be the age they should be able to get birth control on their own.

COLMES: There are kids who don't know what to do. They need some help, and they need some counseling. And it's good that schools, they want to trust and talk to.

RIVERA: Schools can't be surrogate parents. They can't take the place of parents. There are good parents and bad parents. But I mean, the whole system of a family that something goes back to as long as they're -- the human race.

COLMES: Your children are lucky enough to have an involved dad like you. Not every kid has a parent that they can go home and talk to.

RIVERA: But you know, in this issue of the cupcakes, you know, my children love sweets. And I -- and every Thanksgiving is a horrible time, because I see them stuffing themselves on food that I know is unhealthy.

COLMES: And you allow them to eat this stuff?

RIVERA: And I -- and it's the one day I do. And I do it, you know, not the one day. But birthdays and, you know, holidays and all the rest of it.

But there is an obesity epidemic among American children. Half of all our kids under the age of 14 are fat.

COLMES: So does this school have a responsibility...

RIVERA: There is a new report that comes out that says obesity is linked to cancer. So it's pretty clear to me that there is a responsibility to counsel our children to eat responsibly.

COLMES: Right. All right, so you say a school shouldn't be your parents. But doesn't the school also have the responsibility to make sure that kids are getting nutritious edibles when they're in the schools?

RIVERA: Yes. Yes

COLMES: So what's...

RIVERA: They don't need to be the food police on Halloween and say kids can't have those little orange candies.

COLMES: All right. Halloween. Ok so make an exception, but there's nothing wrong with schools saying...

RIVERA: You've got to be reasonable. I think everything in moderation is really the answer. And I don't think you can idealize -- ideologicalize food eating or the role of the school...

COLMES: He's going to -- in a moment, when you talk to Mr. Hannity way over there to my right, he's going to get very...

RIVERA: Way over to your right. Way over to your right.

COLMES: ... upset about this idea about this condom distribution and birth control. This has brought down teenage pregnancy. Historically, we have seen, as this has become more available, it has reduced the incidence of teenage pregnancy. That's the goal that conservatives say they want.

RIVERA: True. But you don't want the school to undermine the family institution. Families are in trouble enough.

COLMES: It's an adjunct to the family where the family can't step in and do the job.

RIVERA: So long as it's not supplanting the parent in making those decisions.

COLMES: Right.

SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: The first things, words out of his mouth were birth control is good that we're giving these things out. This is the problem with modern big government liberalism. Is that they think they know better than the parents. And they will circumvent the values of many parents and without their permission, liberal support, giving birth control pills and condoms and condom demonstrations.

You raise your liberal kids your way. I'll raise my kids the way I want to. And I'm pro-choice.

(CROSSTALK)

RIVERA: Becasause I'm obviously a centrist in the middle of you two. I think that you're both right to a certain extent.

HANNITY: Can't both be right on this.

RIVERA: Yes, you can, because what age is appropriate for the school to intervene?

HANNITY: Never, never.

RIVERA: At some point where the child...

HANNITY: Give me an age.

RIVERA: Whatever the legal age of consent is.

HANNITY: All right. So 18? They're 18...

RIVERA: Eighteen in New York or 17 or 16 in other states.

HANNITY: But they're adults at that point.

RIVERA: It's 14 in the state of Maine. I mean, there's different ages. Different...

HANNITY: You want -- you want some teacher or counselor at the school giving birth control to a 14 year-old without a parent told?

RIVERA: I do not. And I've made myself very clear on that.

HANNITY: That's the age of consent.

RIVERA: In the state of Maine it is. It is horrifying to me.

HANNITY: I agree.

RIVERA: But it is not, in the state of New York, 17 or 16. I think there is an age where it's appropriate.

Going back to this food thing though, we have to recognize that our children really are eating themselves to unhealthiness and that sometimes that -- and here's a -- and you'll love this on the right. Here's a local school board deciding what's best for that locality. That's where the decisions should be made, at the school board level.

HANNITY: You know what? I totally agree. I've got two young kids, and I am the food police. And I'm constantly monitoring what they eat.

RIVERA: And but for your involvement, wouldn't they eat the worst stuff?

HANNITY: Chicken nuggets. Pizza, cake, cupcakes. Junk food.

RIVERA: Of course. There's not -- there's not a night where I'm out where they have the choice of what they order out that they ordered something that's bad for them. Always. Always pizza.

HANNITY: By the way, Halloween is a liberal holiday, because we're teaching our children...

COLMES: Oh, come on. Please.

HANNITY: ... to beg for something for free.

RIVERA: You notice, I wore my costume. I wore my moustache tonight.

HANNITY: And by the way, I heard Mike, Mike's really dressed as you.

COLMES: By the way, I'm going this Halloween as a Republican. I'm taking candy away from people.

RIVERA: ... bash Hillary. Walk around with her.

HANNITY: The scariest mask of the year is the Hillary mask.

COLMES: We've done enough Hillary bashing on this show already, only 36 minutes into it.

Thank you Geraldo.

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