Special Ed Teacher Who Said Gays Have No ‘Purpose’ is Suspended

An Indiana teacher has been suspended after making homophobic remarks, and though the school district hasn’t formally identified the teacher, we can all guess who it is.

In the midst of a campaign by some students at Sullivan High School to hold a “traditional prom” barring gay students, Diana Medley, a special education teacher at another local school, reportedly told the media that she not only disagreed with homosexuality, but felt gays had no purpose in life:

“We don’t agree with it (homosexuality), and it’s offensive to us,” Medley told reporters. “Homosexual students come to me with their problems, and I don’t agree with them, but I care about them. It’s the same thing with my special needs kids. I think God puts everyone in our lives for a reason.”

When asked if she thinks gays have a purpose in life, Medley said, “No I honestly don’t. Sorry, but I don’t. I don’t understand it.”

“A gay person isn’t going to come up and make some change unless it’s to realize that it was a choice and they’re choosing God,” Medley told WTWO.

According to Indiana’s RTV6, the unidentified teacher was suspended “as a precaution” after her comments generated such furious responses nationwide and via social media:

Superintendent Mark Baker of the Northeast School Corp. in western Indiana’s Sullivan County issued a statement Wednesday saying the teacher has been placed on administrative leave and that state and local police are stationing officers at North Central Junior-Senior High School as a precaution because of “aggressive” email messages sent to the school and the teacher.

While the school’s principal has said he doesn’t condone the idea of a separate prom, a Facebook page supporting the “traditional prom” is back online after a temporary hiatus. Doesn’t look like it’s going to get very far, though.