Georgia Office Seeker Blasts Ruling Favoring High School Gay-Straight Club
by Jim Brown
August 2, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A federal judge recently issued a ruling requiring White County High School in Cleveland, Georgia, to allow students in the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club "Pride" to meet on campus. However, the Republican nominee for attorney general in that state says he would like to see homosexuality-affirming student clubs banned from the state's schools.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had filed a lawsuit against the White County School District in February, claiming school officials violated Pride's rights under the federal Equal Access Act, and a federal judge agreed. But Perry McGuire, a candidate for Georgia Attorney General, says the judge's decision allowing the pro-homosexual club to meet on the school campus was "terribly unfortunate."
McGuire, a former corporate attorney and one-time state senator, feels the court's ruling in this case has turned the Equal Access Act on its head. "I think the problem here, and I think where the court substantially erred, is that the intent of the Act was never to allow organizations that advocate illegal activity [to have campus access]," he says. "And in Georgia, sex between minors is illegal; statutory rape laws apply."
GSAs and their ilk should be denied access to school campuses, the AG candidate says, because they promote activities that are against the law. Allowing such groups is "much like allowing a pedophile club or a gambling club to meet at school," he contends.
"So there really should be no clubs permitted in school, period, that deal with illegal activity," McGuire continues. "Homosexual activist clubs in schools are detrimental to students and to the moral well-being of society," he asserts.
The would-be chief law enforcement officer for the State of Georgia says the federal judge's decision in favor of the group Pride is indicative of a movement in U.S. courts to broadly interpret the federal equal access law. Legislative action, he suggests, may be the best way to counter this trend.
"I believe that we might need to ask Congress to revisit the Equal Access Act and to more clearly define restrictions that should be placed on schools," McGuire says. "I think that's the most appropriate place," he explains, "simply because what we don't want to do is create a hodgepodge of court rulings or school rules."
Most Gay-Straight Alliances in public schools purport to exist for the purpose of promoting diversity and a safe, supportive or affirming environment for all, including "gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered" students and their allies. According to a Wikipedia article on these alliances, many in-school "GSAs" work with local chapters of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and participate in activities such as the National Day of Silence, National Coming Out Day, and other pro-homosexual awareness campaigns.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
