Tennessee parents compare GSA club to ISIS
Yes, you read that right.
In Tennessee, tensions have been rising for quite some time between a group of conservative parents and students and a group of students who only want one thing: a gay straight alliance that offers a welcoming and safe space for queer youth.
The formation of the GSA at Franklin High School in Winchester stirred up enough parents to come out saying that such clubs should not exist on campus, and even went as far as to compare the club to future ISIS members.
“If we do not band together and stop this B.S, the next thing you know, we will have F.I.M.A. (future ISIS members of America) #PUTGODINSCHOOLSPLEASE,”
But while the Franklin County School Board will reconsider its policy on student organizations, any changes in the policy would not be retroactive, so the GSA is safe, Amie Lonas, the county schools director, told the Murfreesboro, Tenn., Daily News Journal after the meeting.
The organizers went through the proper procedures in forming the GSA last December. Also, federal law requires campus access for clubs dealing with a wide variety of topics.
Freshman Kevin Hamrick, a member of the GSA, said the group is needed. “Our community demeans the LGBT community so much that there has to be something to stop it,” he said Monday night.
He also told board members, “You can take us down. You can take our signs down. You can take the tears out of our eyes. But we still have a legal right to keep meeting.”
Watch the clip below …
