Bryan Lindquist testifying that the district shouldn't recognize gay youth because homosexuality is a disorder.

Anoka-Hennepin School District has so far stood by its decision to appoint Bryan Lindquist to its anti-bullying task force, even though he belongs to the anti-gay hate group the Parents Action League. The Department of Justice mandated the overhaul of the district’s bullying policies specifically because of its disregard of LGBT students, so Lindquist is a particularly dubious choice. Truth Wins Out noticed that Lindquist penned a letter to the editor for ABC Newspapers this week in which he cites the fraudulent Regnerus study to attack same-sex parenting:

Here are some of his findings that reveal greater child endangerment in same-sex households than households headed by a mom and a dad:

• Parental pedophilia:  23 percent of children with a lesbian mother reported having been touched sexually by a parent or adult, compared with 2 percent of those raised by biological parents.
• Higher number of rape cases: 31 percent of children raised by a lesbian mother and 25 percent raised by a homosexual male report that they were forced to have sex against their will, compared to 8 percent from intact families.
• Suicidal tendencies are shocking: 24 percent of children raised by homosexual men and 12 percent of children raised by lesbian mothers admitted to having recently contemplated suicide, compared to 5 percent of those raised by biological parents or even a single parent.

He concludes:

The social experiment of legalizing same-sex unions will prove disastrous for kids and bring untold dysfunction and damage to children and society.

Of course, the Regnerus study only included two children that were actually raised throughout their childhood in same-sex parented homes, so there is nothing legitimate to substantiate these claims. Clearly, Lindquist has absolutely no problem publicly scorning and stigmatizing gays and lesbians, encouraging people to believe that they are pedophiles and that they harm children. This is the perspective Anoka-Hennepin School Board Chair Tom Heidemann thinks will help protect LGBT youth in their community — he couldn’t be more wrong.

Anoka-Hennepin School Board Chair Tom Heidemann

Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin School District is supposed to be advancing a new anti-bullying policy as mandated by the Department of Justice, but it doesn’t seem to be moving in the right direction. Last week, it appointed Bryan Lindquist of the Parents Action League, an anti-LGBT hate group, to its anti-bullying task force, but sent a canned rejection letter to qualified advocates, including the outspoken mother of a student who committed suicide. Now, School Board Chair Tom Heidemann is defending the decision:

HEIDEMANN: Based on the testimony he’s (Lindquist) had at the board, he’s concerned about bullying harassment of students. I think again that in order for us to be effective as an organization, we cannot exclude any person based on their religious beliefs.

To characterize Lindquist’s point of view as simply a diverse religious perspective is a gross understatement. When he requested that the Parents Action League’s feedback be considered in the school’s policy, here are some of the ideas he advocated for:

• Special recognition for “ex-homosexuals and ex-transgenders,” as well as support for students whose religious beliefs opposed homosexuality.
• Trainings and presentations conducted by anti-LGBT and ex-gay groups.
• Teaching students that being gay could be bad and LGBT advocacy should be questioned.
• Teaching that homosexuality is a disorder, even though it hasn’t been classified as such by medical professionals for over 40 years.
• Teaching that AIDS is “Gay-Related Immune Deficiency” (GRID), in other words, AIDS is a gay disease and homosexuality is a health risk to society.

Heidemann rejected these ideas, but didn’t condemn their level of offense or harm. Given his warm embrace of Lindquist, perhaps he now feels there is room for such blatant anti-LGBT animus in Anoka-Hennepin. Of course, that was the district’s problem in the first place.

Tammy Aaberg hugging a gay graduate of Blaine High School (Photo: Richard Marshall/Pioneer Press.)

Since the suicide of her son, Justin, Tammy Aaberg has been an outspoken advocate against bullying in his school district, Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin School District, and the surrounding communities. She started an ever-growing organization in his name, Justin’s Gift, to provide safe spaces and resources for LGBT teens. Given her direct involvement and awareness on the issues, it would make perfect sense for her to be a part of the district’s new anti-bullying task force, as mandated by the Department of Justice. Instead, a member of the anti-LGBT hate group was appointed, and Aaberg received a canned rejection letter, which she shared with Truth Wins Out.

The canned letter does not reference the loss of her son that was largely influenced by the school’s toxic climate, nor her work advocating to improve that environment over the past two years:

Unfortunately, we could not appoint everyone who applied. We reviewed the applications thoroughly and worked hard to select committee members who would represent a broad cross-section of the community, being especially mindful of protected classes, gender balance, and religious affiliation.

We will keep your name on file as a person interested in this topic. If at some point in their work the task force wishes to seek additional input, we will invite comment from you and the other applicants who were not appointed to the group. We will also send you a link to the final report when it is posted online.

How committed can the district be to improving the safety of its school when it so coldly rejects one of its community’s biggest advocates? The faculty advisor for the local gay-straight alliance was also rejected. But the task force does want to hear from an advocate of ex-gay therapy who wants children to learn that homosexuality directly causes AIDS. For a school mandated by the government to do better by its students, its priorities certainly seem misplaced.

Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota continues to serve as a shining example of what not to do to support LGBT students who are being bullied. For years, the district had some version of a “don’t say gay” or “neutrality” policy that prohibited teachers from affirming LGBT students — or interrupting the bullying they were suffering. After a Rolling Stone article profiled the school’s negative climate for the nation to see in February, the superintendent tried to claim that bullying had nothing to do with the spate of student suicides the district experienced, changing his tune just two weeks later.

In March, the Department of Justice completed its investigation, finding that Anoka-Hennepin had not properly protected its students from harassment. In fact, detailed narratives showcased the many ways administrators allowed it to persist. The DOJ required that the district implement a new model policy for supporting LGBT students and reducing bullying. The Parents Action League, a vile anti-LGBT hate group that seems to exist solely to reinforce stigma in the community, insisted that its rhetoric — including promotion of ex-gay therapy and references to AIDS as “GRID” (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency) — be included in the new policies moving forward. Now it seems they might just have that opportunity.

Truth Wins Out points out that Anoka-Hennepin has made some troubling choices in who it has appointed to its new anti-bullying task force, and who it has rejected. Tammy Aaberg, whose son Justin was one of the students who committed suicide and who has since dedicated her life to anti-bullying efforts, was rejected from the task force. So too was Jefferson Fietek, an anti-bullying trainer who serves as the faculty advisor for the local Gay-Straight Alliance. But the task force has appointed Parents Action League spokesman Bryan Lindquist, an anti-equality activist who has described homosexuality as a “lifestyle choice” and who was the primary proponent of promoting ex-gay therapy in the school.

School Board Chair Tom Heidemann explained that the board is “firmly committed” to addressing bullying and harassment, and believes that Lindquist’s appointment will ensure that the task force reflects “very diverse points of view.” Apparently, Anoka-Hennepin School District believes that maintaining bullying and reinforcing stigmatization is an important perspective to have on an anti-bullying committee.

Minnesota-based Target is selling these Pride Month shirts to support the Family Equality Council.

“Neutrality” is the new buzzword among groups opposed to same-sex marriage. The Family Research Council would prefer Target “take a position of neutrality on the redefinition of marriage” instead of selling Pride Month t-shirts. One Million Moms has called on JC Penney to “remain neutral in the culture war,” rather than include same-sex families in their advertisements. And last week, the National Organization for Marriage sent a vaguely threatening letter to Minnesota’s 50 largest corporations urging them to sit out the debate on the state’s marriage inequality amendment:

As a cultural matter that has little to do with your corporate mission to serve customers, earn profits, and provide good jobs for the people of Minnesota we would request that _____ adopt a neutral stance on the Minnesota marriage amendment. We do not request that you endorse our efforts to protect the age-old definition of what is a marriage, but only that you stay neutral and respect the conscience rights of your customers and employees who are on both sides of the issue.[...]

Wading into a culture war over an issue where _____ has no business interest is to invite public backlash, much like what Starbucks is experiencing in the DumpStarbucks.com campaign, with little upside. Polls have put support for the Minnesota marriage amendment at 56% – higher than polls in North Carolina had support for the marriage amendment there just prior to the 61-39% victory for marriage in that state.[...]

We are carefully watching what _____ will do on this important measure, with the expectation that you will not be engaged on one side or the other. Please let us know if this is not the case.

It’s unclear which poll NOM is referring to, because the latest survey showed the discriminatory measure losing 43-49. Furthermore, the DumpStarbucks threat is a joke — only 44,338 people have pledged to dump Starbucks, whereas nearly 15 times as many people (650,000) eagerly thanked Starbucks for supporting marriage equality. In the weeks after NOM first launched its campaign, the company’s stock climbed significantly in value. Today, Starbucks publicly endorsed marriage equality in Australia, clearly not intimidated by NOM’s paltry protest.

More importantly, there’s no such thing as a “neutral” position that doesn’t still hurt the gay community. The term as used by anti-gay conservatives seems to derive from Minnesota’s largest school district, Anoka-Hennepin, where a “neutrality” policy prevented staff from discussing LGBT issues and thereby created a toxic bullying-ridden climate for gay and trans students. A policy of neutrality is a policy of invisibility, disregard, and shame. NOM’s use of such a red herring is both a sign of the organization’s anti-gay malevolence and desperation for support.

Lastly, NOM’s rationale that supporting marriage equality has “little to do with” corporate missions is simply wrong. Businesses do better when their LGBT employees are treated fairly, because they can recruit and retain more talented staff and market their spirit of inclusion to customers. Minnesota’s businesses should call NOM on its bluff and do what’s right for both their profits and the thousands of same-sex families who might patronize them: embrace equality for all.

PAL recommends various books condemning comprehensive sex education.

The Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota is in the process of overhauling its bullying policies after a Department of Justice investigation found that it had allowed anti-LGBT harassment to persist. Despite the model plan the district has agreed to implement, it still faces the demands made by the newly anointed conservative hate group the Parents Action League (PAL), which has been largely responsible for influencing the school’s history of anti-LGBT policies. School Board Chairman Tom Heidemann responded to PAL this weekend, and though he did reject most of the group’s demands, he did not condemn them for their factual inaccuracy or offensive intent:

• SPECIAL RECOGNITION FOR BULLIES: PAL wanted a special set of resources and outreach created for “students of faith, moral conviction, ex-homosexuals, and ex-transgenders.” Heidemann responded that advocating religious points of view “would be a violation of state and federal laws,” but that the superintendent is “open to any invitations from classes or students groups that want to meet with him.”
• ACCESS FOR ANTI-GAY GROUPS: PAL wanted “pro-family” and ex-gay groups access to train the district’s counselors and other service personnel. While these groups often use religious-based pseudoscience to promote harmful “therapy” that does not effect change, Heidemann simply said the school board accepts “all students as they come to us” and listed the mental health specialists that counselors refer.
• QUESTION GLBT ADVOCACY: The conservatives at PAL want students to learn that being gay could be bad, and Heidemann pointed out that the staff development program included the resource Homosexuality (Opposing Viewpoints), a book that “provides many alternative points of view.”
• TEACH HOMOSEXUALITY AS A ‘DISORDER’: Perhaps Heidemann’s strongest response to PAL: “We accept all students and we do not consider them to have a disorder if they identify as gay or support their gay friends.”
• TEACH AIDS AS “GAY-RELATED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY (GRID)”: This was undoubtedly PAL’s most despicable request, and unfortunately Heidemann does not sufficiently manage the offense. He explained that because the district’s sex education curriculum is abstinence-based, “it does not focus on specific sex acts” in discussions about sexually transmitted diseases, adding that “Anoka-Hennepin health classes address homosexuality.” PAL’s obvious anti-gay animus remains unaddressed.

The Star Tribune has provided a full copy of Heidemann’s response. While it is promising that the school is finally showing its capacity to withstand PAL’s influence, Heidemann’s reluctance to defend gay students and object to PAL’s smears suggests the process of creating an LGBT-welcoming environment in the district will be a slow one.

Image from the website of anti-gay hate group Sons of Thundr

Yesterday, ThinkProgress LGBT noted that a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) identifies 27 active anti-gay hate groups, up from 17 in 2010. Sadly, the 11 groups new to this list from last year richly deserved the dubious honor.

They are:

• United Families International (Gilbert, AZ): This group backed the sodomy laws ruled unconstitutional in the Lawrence v. Texas case and has argued “No one is ‘born that way.’ Policies that would normalize homosexuality by equating homosexual behavior with innate characteristics such as race or ethnicity should be opposed.”
• Save California (Sacramento, CA): The group is leading the charge to repeal California’s FAIR Education Act, hoping to stop teachers from “kidnapping the brains of kids” by teaching about the contributions of LGBT Americans. Save California’s head, Randy Thomasson, blamed a bullied and murdered gay teen for his own death.
• Sons of Thundr (Faith Baptist Church) (Luthersville, GA): The church’s website feautures a “sodomites can be saved” section which claims “ALL HOMOS ARE: SICK, BRAIN DAMAGED, PERVERTS!”
• You Can Run, But You Cannot Hide (Annandale, MN). Bradlee Dean, the group’s president and CEO, has said, “The gay ‘movement’ is part of a sexual revolution that has stripped sexuality of all moral significance for an entire generation. We cannot accept the physical prosecution of homosexuals and we cannot accept the proposal that homosexuality is either private or moral,” but notes he is opposed to actually executing LGBT citizens.
• Parents Action League (Champlin, MN): A small group of parents in the bullying-riddled Anoka-Hennepin School District want to require schools to teach that AIDS is a gay disease and to promote harmful and ineffective ex-gay therapy.
• Jewish Political Action Committee (Brooklyn, NY): This group claims that marriage equality in New York State has created a “surge” of child molestation and distributes signs that say “G-d sent AIDS to punish male gays.”
• Mission: America (Columbus, OH): Lead by Linda Harvey, who has been dubbed “the most homophobic woman in America,” this group has discouraged the hiring of gay and lesbian employees and claimed that “there is no proof” that gay, lesbian or bisexual or transgendered people even exist.
• Windsor Hills Baptist Church (Oklahoma City, OK): The church’s pastor, Tom Vineyard, argued against an employment non-discrimination proposal by making the bizarre claim that half of all murders in large cities are by gay people.
• True Light Pentecost Church (Spartanburg, SC): On the church’s blog, it warns that “The sub-human culture created by the anti-christ and magnified by the Sodomite/Lesbian movement,” has “brought end-time prophecy to a final state,” and encourages followers to “fight the great sodomite/lesbian army.”
• Tom Brown Ministries (El Paso, TX): Pastor and exorcist Tom Brown led the charge in El Paso to rescind an employment non-discrimination law he felt was “condoning immorality.” He also preaches that “homosexuality is actually an emotional, psychological disorder brought on early in childhood.”
• Public Advocate of the United States (Falls Church, VA): Run by Loudoun County, Virginia Supervisor Eugene Delguaido (R), this group is infamous for its over-the-top anti-gay fundraising letters, including comments like, “As homosexuals die off due to AIDS, the remaining AIDS carriers prey on children to replenish the ‘Homosexual Community.’”

The SPLC observed that the advances of the LGBT equality movement “seemed to set off a furious rage on the religious right, with renewed efforts to ban or repeal marriage equality and what seemed to be an intensification of anti-gay propaganda in certain quarters.” These hate groups clearly are among those quarters.