Florida Activist Says Emotional Appeal of Pro-Homosexual Play Misplaced in School

by Jim Brown
November 17, 2003

(AgapePress) - A community activist in Florida is speaking out against a local public school play about the murder of homosexual college student Matthew Shepard.

Later this week, Stranahan High School students will be presenting a production called The Laramie Project, which portrays the story of Shephard's brutal murder and the effect it has had on his home town. The play has been controversial from its inception, with many pro-family groups saying homosexual activists have exploited the tragic circumstances surrounding Shephard's death to advance their agenda.

Christian activist Margaret Hostetter, who is considering a run for Congress in the Sunshine State, believes the play portrays all homosexuals as victims -- and does not belong in the Fort Lauderdale school.

"The impression I have is that it's used as a propaganda piece, unfortunately, and a means by which the whole topic of sexual orientation and homosexuality can be brought into the student body in a way that, I guess, looks to some like an academic exercise," Hostetter says.

Two years ago, Hostetter led a campaign to reinstate the Boy Scouts in Broward County schools after the school board kicked the group out because of its policy prohibiting homosexual troop leaders. Obviously accustomed to the tactics used by homosexual advocates, she says the play scheduled for this Thursday through Saturday is an example of a very successful technique used to promote the acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle.

"[P]eople who perhaps haven't formed a definite opinion one way or another about the whole issue of the homosexual agenda are more easily swayed [by] a play such as this that basically paints the whole homosexual [community] as victims," she says. Such a presentation, she adds, "appeals to that protection that people naturally give to people who are victims."

The high school production has prompted some Stranahan students to form a Gay-Straight Alliance Club on campus, and has led teachers to discuss the issue in class.