by Rusty Pugh and Jody Brown
(AgapePress) – The American Family Association Center for Law & Policy has filed a federal lawsuit in St. Paul, Minnesota, against a high school to prevent school officials from enforcing policies that squelch viewpoints favorable toward heterosexuality.
The suit was filed yesterday on behalf of 16-year-old Elliott Chambers, a student at Woodbury High School, and his parents, Kendal and Lana Chambers. In January, Elliott was summoned to the principal's office and told that a sweatshirt he had worn the previous day was thereafter banned as offensive to gay, lesbian, and bisexual students. The sweatshirt carried the trademarked logo “Straight Pride” on the front, and on the back featured a symbol of a man and woman holding hands.
AFA attorney Michael DePrimo says the school is discriminating against heterosexuals, while openly promoting homosexuality.
“The school is not only tolerant toward homosexuality, they openly embrace it and support it,” DePrimo says. “We're aware of situations where teachers actually read e-mails from parents [in which parents] have expressed concern over the open support of homosexuality. These teachers read the e-mails in class, try to tell the students why it's wrong, and then criticize the parents.”
According to a press release from the Law Center, the school also openly promotes homosexuality by displaying inverted pink triangles — the universal symbol of the homosexual community — in certain “safe” rooms. Those rooms, the release says, are set aside for student/teacher discussion and counseling regarding homosexuality and “other non-traditional relationships.”
Before they contacted the Law Center, the Chamberses attempted to resolve the matter by meeting with the school's principal, co-defendant Dr. Dana Babbit. The Law Center says that during that meeting the Chamberses expressed their concern about the school's overt support of homosexuality and bisexuality, but that Babbit called them “homophobic.” Later, other parents reportedly were “shocked and outraged” when the Chamberses told them about the school's “safe” rooms.
The Law Center's chief counsel, Steve Crampton, is concerned about the school's reaction to what was a simple, positive statement about traditional relationships.
“Elliott's sweatshirt merely makes a positive statement about heterosexuality,” Crampton says. “It does not denigrate other forms of sexuality. This is a case of classic viewpoint discrimination. The school has chosen to openly embrace homosexuality and bisexuality, and it does not welcome dissenting points of view. What is especially troubling is the school's open hostility toward student support of committed man-woman relationships.”
Advocacy of the homosexual lifestyle on the educational scene was apparent as well at a recent conference on the campus of Tufts University in Boston. According to The Massachusetts News, a conference late last month featured workshops on how to incorporate gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender issues and literature into school curriculum. In addition, Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts reportedly distributed kits geared toward encouraging homosexual sex acts.
(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)
