Indiana: Public school teacher supports holding separate prom to exclude gay students

Indiana public school teacher Diane Medley, speaking in support of a plan to stage a separate senior prom that will ban gay students from attending:

"I believe that it was life circumstances and they chose to be that way; God created everyone equal. Homosexual students come to me with their problems, and I don't agree with them, but I care about them. It's the same thing with my special needs kids, I think God puts everyone in our lives for a reason. So the same goes for gays? Do you think they have a purpose in life?' No I honestly don't. Sorry, but I don't. I don't understand it. A gay person isn't going to come up and make some change unless it's to realize that it was a choice and they're choosing God."

Dan Savage reacts:

Let's pause here to grieve for all the special education students in Sullivan, Indiana. Students with learning disabilities have it hard enough without getting stuck with a mentally challenged special ed teacher. You know else has it hard enough? I imagine queer kids growing up in Sullivan, Indiana, population 4,249, have it hard enough without having to watch shit like this on the evening news.

The anti-gay haters at Sullivan High have a Facebook page: 2013 Sullivan Traditional Prom. One of the organizers of this hate group would like us to know that "this is not a hate group." 2013 Sullivan Traditional Prom is just a group that has been organized with the sole purpose of creating an alternate prom that excludes gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students and to achieve that end the group's members are calling LGBT kids "offensive," sick, and sinful.

What's hateful about that? Besides, you know, everything?

I completely agree with Dan. Their last high school celebration these folks have and they want to plan as an exclusionary event. That how you want to head out into the world? Really?

(via JMG)