Coming Out Day posters come down, then go back up at Georgia school

Teachers and the principal at a high school in Georgia's DeKalb County took down posters Thursday promoting National Coming Out Day, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Nancy Wilson, a German and math teacher who serves as adviser to Lakeside High School's Gay-Straight Alliance--the only GSA in the county--told the paper that school principal Randy Lee called her into his office Thursday to let her know that the 10 missing posters had been taken down by himself and some teachers. "He was very adamant about not wanting them in the halls," Wilson said. "He said we were not allowed to have them up, they were inappropriate, we can't encourage students to come out."

Within an hour, however, the principal had put the posters back up, Wilson said. A spokesman for the school told the paper that Lee had had a change of heart. "He thought about it, and he decided, no, they're fine, they're appropriate," the spokesman said. "It was not about gays; it was about respect for people--not to be bullied, not to be harassed."