06 November,2010 08:19 AM IST | | Agencies
Having a safe Halloween took on a different meaning in one Oregon neighborhood, where trick-or-treating teenagers received condoms in their goodie bags.
Daniel and Kathleen Harris, of Silverton, said the free condoms were part of their effort to promote health.
They also handed out toothbrushes as well as candy bars.
The father of one 14-year-old girl who received the condoms, Daniel Cote, was offended and says it was inappropriate to give them to children without parents' consent.
Kathleen Harris said she started handing out condoms to high school-age trick-or-treaters in college, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, before she moved to Silverton.
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She has continued the tradition for the past 24 years in an effort to curb teen pregnancy and STDs.
During that time, she said, she has had only one other complaintu00a0-- although she said that giving condoms to a 14-year-old was a mistake.
The couple's practice, she said, is to ask kids if they're 16 or older.
