Associated Press is reporting on the principal of a
South Carolina high school who plans to resign because his school
district supports the formation of an outreach group for
lesbian/gay students and their friends.
“Irmo High School principal Eddie Walker confirmed Wednesday he is
stepping down at the end of the 2008-09 school year. Walker said he
gave his reasons in a letter sent to teachers and others and he
refused to talk about the issue further. In a copy of the letter
obtained by WIS-TV in
Columbia, Walker said allowing the Gay-Straight Alliance club
on campus would conflict with his professional beliefs and
religious convictions because there are no other clubs on campus
based on sexual preference or activity and the school teaches
abstinence-based sex education.”
Walker wrote: “I feel the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance club
at Irmo High school implies that students joining the club will
have chosen to or will choose to engage in sexual activity with
members of the same sex, opposite sex, or members of both
sexes.”
According to the AP, Lexington-Richland School District 5 couldn’t
stop the club from forming because federal law prohibits
discriminating against a club based on its purpose. The district
would have had to ban all clubs from campus or face a lawsuit it
would likely lose if it kept the club from the school.
[Crossposted at ProudParenting.com]