Church group: bullying is not ‘okay,’ but neither is being gay ‘okay’

Linda Harvey

A church group has produced what they describe as “a simple flyer for your older grade school or middle school children about homosexuality?”

Mission: America, a Christian ministry, publication and Web site founded by Linda Harvey, has produced the new “guide” to teach parents on how to talk to kids about homosexuality. Authored by Harvey, the guide emphatically states that “… it’s not right to tell someone that being homosexual is okay. The person may be feeling sad because of being bullied, but never try to make him or her feel better by saying ‘gay’ is okay.”

Harvey goes on to compare overeating with being gay, “Kids who are overweight are sometimes bullied, too. And we might want to make that person feel better. But it would be a mistake to say that overeating is a good thing, right?

So tell your friends, in a nice way, that no one needs to be “gay” or pretend to be the other gender. It’s not the right thing to do.”

According to ABC News Harvey said she wrote the brochure in response to requests by parents concerned their kids will be exposed to the “sin of homosexuality.” It’s geared toward Christian children who attend public school because, she said, school curricula almost always present homosexuality in a positive light and she wanted to make sure children were given a different viewpoint.

Mission America, however, is considered a hate group by many gay and civil rights organizations and gay advocacy group Truth Wins Out refers to Harvey as “the most bigoted woman in America.”

Herndon Graddick, president of The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)

said of the new publication, “Encouraging young people to reject or speak out against a peer because of something they can’t change is bullying at its worst. Thankfully, millions of Americans including teachers, athletes, and faith leaders disagree with anti-gay activists like Lisa Harvey and are giving young people the support they so critically need by reminding them that it’s OK to be who you are.”

Short URL: http://lgbtweekly.com/?p=28981

Posted by Associate Editor on Sep 15, 2012. Filed under Online Only, Top Highlights. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry