Gay and liberal groups at The George Washington University have demanded that funding for GW-YAF, a chapter affiliate of Young America’s Foundation, be revoked for the club’s daring to stand up for religious freedom.

The student association at The George Washington University voted to enforce mandatory training for all student club leaders and faculty on gay issues. According to the GW Hatchet:

The training sessions would teach student leaders about gender identities and sexualities. After their presidents and treasurers complete the trainings, the organizations would be labeled “safe zones” for LGBT students. Officials in the Multicultural Student Services Center would lead the trainings, which would also be extended to faculty.

GW-YAF co-chair Emily Jashinsky suggested that a religious exemption be put in place for clubs and students who support traditional values. For this suggestion, a number of LGBT organizations have made calls for GW-YAF to have their funding revoked.

A number of students took to Twitter and Facebook to call for the club to lose funding:

On Facebook, Allies and Pride issued the following:

If GW YAF refuses to participate in safe zone trainings that are aimed at increasing safety and understanding, then they should be considered a hate group, and thereby, be revoked of all funding from the Student Association at The George Washington University….Lastly, their decision to bring Rick Santorum- a man who has compared homosexuality to pedophilia and beastiality- to campus the day before Trans Day of Visibility underscores their intolerance and pattern of hate.

Like most universities, in order to be “inclusive,” GW must exclude students who disagree with prevailing leftist ideas that are pushed by the administration, faculty, and other liberal student groups.

There is a long history of attacks against GW-YAF, with the most recent incident occurring last year when the club’s pro-life cross display was vandalized and items were trashed. When leaders of GW-YAF brought the vandalism to the university’s attention, very little was done to find the perpetrators.

Why is there not sensitivity training for gay and liberal groups to respect the free speech rights of other groups on campus? Why has the student association not considered similar training to teach students to respect those who believe in traditional marriage?

The hateful atmosphere that currently exists at The George Washington University will remain as long as the university allows liberal bullies to intimidate and attack students or clubs that dare to express opinions different from their own.

Patrick X. Coyle is Vice President of Young America’s Foundation