Appointing Bryan Lindquist, a prominent member of the Parents Action League (which the Southern Poverty Law Center lists as an active anti-gay hate group), to the Anti-Bullying/Anti-Harassment Task Force is like letting the fox into the hen house. At the very least, it shows a considerable lack of good judgment on the part of the School Board members. At the worst, it is a clear signal that the School Board considers appeasing intolerant religious leaders more important than protecting and saving the lives of students. Furthermore, I believe Mr. Lindquist's appointment shows a demonstrable lack of good faith in the spirit of the School Board's settlement with the Department of Justice, the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the students who sued the School District.

Anoka-Hennepin School Board Chair Tom Heidemann defends appointing Mr. Lindquist by claiming that it was done to make sure that the Task Force included “very diverse points of view.” Mr. Lindquist was appointed over much better qualified candidates like community member Tammy Aaberg, whose 15-year-old gay son Justin committed suicide in 2010 after relentless anti-LGBT bullying, and Jefferson Fietek, faculty advisor to the local Gay-Straight Alliance and an anti-bullying trainer. Lindquist's appointment calls into question the sincerity of the school board's commitment to protect ALL students from bullying and harassment.

“Legitimizing a hateful anti-gay worldview under the pretext of ‘diversity’ is utterly repugnant,” said Becker, “especially since that view has created a climate that drives LGBT kids to take their own lives. The Anoka-Hennepin School District has a choice to make: it can either embrace the radical ideology of Bryan Lindquist and the Parents Action League or it can honestly address its infamous anti-gay bullying problem and protect its LGBT students. It can’t do both.” http://www.truthwinsout.org/news/2012/10/30766/