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.
