Parents in Franklin County, Tenn., have rallied against a Gay-Straight Alliance at Franklin County High School. The club, which received school permission to form last December, has sparked controversy, with some community members calling for it to be disbanded.
“I don’t understand it. I don’t understand where they’re coming from, and I want answers. Everybody wants answers,” resident John Wimley told WBRC-TV, a local Fox affiliate. Wimley added that he does not “believe there should be religion or sexual preference taught in any school.”
According to the Murfreesboro Daily News Journal, Wimley used his public Facebook page to urge local parents to oppose the club, suggesting that if they did not, students would form a “Future ISIS Leaders of America” club next.
School officials defended their decision to approve the club, citing 1984’s Equal Access Act. The federal law outlines procedures under which students at public secondary schools may form voluntary clubs that are not directly related to the curriculum.
The Franklin County School Board has said it will discuss the club at an upcoming public meeting.
