Parents' Persistent Protest Pays Off; Clubs' Flags Removed
by Jim Brown
June 26, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A pro-family group is hailing the removal of a "homosexual pride" flag from the wall of a Michigan high school.
For almost two years, conservatives have been protesting the presence of a rainbow flag displayed by the Diversity Club at Howell High School. Students even formed a Traditional Values Club in response to the school's allowance of homosexual activism on campus. Last Thursday (June 22) officials at the school took down the rainbow flag, the Christian flag displayed by the Traditional Values Club, and those of all other campus clubs.
Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan, says public outcry forced school officials to reverse what he describes as "one of the most outrageous examples of political correctness ever seen in Michigan."
"This rainbow flag, which is [a] universally recognized [gay pride symbol] ... had been flying at Howell High since the day after the 2004 election, specifically to protest voter approval of a marriage protection amendment to our state constitution," Glenn explains. "And when parents and students protested to the school board, the school board reacted by having a formal flag dedication ceremony for the so-called 'gay pride' flag."
Now, says the AFA-Michigan spokesman, mounting public outcry has forced the school's hand in what he describes as "a sad state of affairs."
"I honestly think it got to the point where their sacred gay pride flag had to be sacrificed if that was the only way they could remove the Christian flag from Howell High," says Glenn. "But the parent group that organized 18 months ago for the purpose of pressuring school officials to remove the gay pride flag from their school finally made their point, and finally succeeded."
Under a revised policy, student clubs will be permitted to display their flags only at the time and place of their meetings. During the 18-month ordeal, the American Family Association's Center for Law & Policy provided legal assistance to the Traditional Values Club.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
