AFA Wants Kids Pulled Out of School During Anti-Bullying Day

The New York Times describes a new low for the American Family Association — the antigay group is urging parents to pull children out of school during Mix It Up at Lunch Day, an event meant to encourage empathy and discourage bullying.

Even though the event is not specific to LGBT students, the AFA told supporters in an email it's part of "homosexual indoctrination" by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which started Mix It Up day 11 years ago. The event encourage school students to eat lunch with different students to foster understanding of differences. Thanks to the AFA's email, a handful of schools canceled the event, which happens on Oct. 30.

"I was surprised that they completely lied about what Mix It Up Day is," Maureen Costello, the director of the SPLC's Teaching Tolerance project, which organizes the program, told the Times. "It was a cynical, fear-mongering tactic." Read more via the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

The Mix It Up scuffle is the latest salvo in the war between the AFA and the SPLC. The latter group, an equality organization, lists the AFA as a "hate group," which the Christian organization is not happy with. Learn more about AFA and SPLC's war here.