Volunteer State May Be Headed For Another GSA Controversy

Back in January, we told you how a parent and business owner in one Tennessee town compared a Gay Straight Alliance at the local high school to the terror group ISIS.Â

That hateful campaign eventually led to the school board in Franklin County, Tennessee, considering a proposal to ban all extracurricular clubs in order to get rid of the GSA.Â

Now, a similar controversy is threatening to play itself out in another part of the state.Â

Earl Keith, whose daughter reportedly attendsÂ Cookeville High School, 80 miles east of Nashville, says he was “highly offended” to find a flier advertising the GSA’s meetings near the school’s main entrance. Although KeithÂ suggests the flier was prominently displayed, it appears to consist of nothing more than a sheet of standard-sized paper tacked to a bulletin board:Â

In any case, Keith is encouraging people to contact school board members and express their “disdain for this godless and destructive stance and attitude.”

“I am appalled that my daughter is forced to see this,” Keith writes in a public Facebook post. “This is NOT an appropriate topic for formation of group of minors. This is the same county that requires kids to get a parental permission form for health classes to teach sex ed. To join a club celebrating this kind of perversion, anti-God, self abusive, non moral substance, all they need do is show up!”Â

Keith goes on to say that “being offended now makes you worthy of being listened to,” adding that he’s taking “the tactic of so many minority groups.” He calls on people to share his post, which also includes sections of Tennessee law prohibiting instruction related to “gateway sexual activity” in public schools.Â

“What’s next! Porn Club!!! Sex with my dog club! Why can’t we have a gun club!!!” Keith writes. “The excuse for this being allowed is because of the the Supreme Court ruling. So why not a gun club. What about my daughter and the right to be taught that this is a sin without fear of repercussions! Dos she have the right to speak and take a stand against this?”Â

As of early Sunday afternoon, Keith’s post had been shared some 425 times â€” but mostly by people who support the GSA.Â

“Wow! Over 400 shares!Â I hope the Cookeville GSA’s next meeting (Sept 8) has its best attendance ever!” one parent writes. “ðŸŒˆÂ (P.S. Mr. Keith, my son is a part of this club, which supports kids who live every day with parents who share your point of view. Clubs such as these can help keep these kids from committing suicide–all in the name of love. Love wins, Mr. Keith. Love always wins.)”Â

“I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry at this, but it got worse when i realized this person was talking about MY school,” one Cookeville High student writes. “To know that such a hateful and bigoted person is involved with the academic lives of any of my classmates in ANY way makes me want to throw up.”Â

“Interestingly, this parent is demonstrating the very REASON a gay-straight alliance is important for teens,” another Facebook user who shared Keith’s post writes. “Please help contact school administrators to support a safe place for LGBT kids in our local schools. Stay tuned.Â

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