A high school
principal in Columbia, S.C., is stepping down from his post
after being asked to allow the creation of a gay-straight
alliance club at his school. Irmo High School
principal Eddie Walker's resignation won't take effect
until June 2009, according to WIS TV in
Columbia. Walker said in a resignation letter he wrote
to the school that allowing the group creates a
conflict involving his professional and religious
beliefs.
"I feel the
formation of a Gay/Straight Alliance Club at Irmo High
school implies that students joining the club will have
chosen to or will choose to engage in sexual activity
with members of the same sex, opposite sex, or members
of both sexes," he wrote.
Walker said that
he would make the announcement to the student body on
Wednesday over the intercom system, promising to work
steadily through the 2008-2009 school year at
Irmo.
"I have prayed
about the decision for a period of time, and I have a
peace about it," he continued. "I would ask that you respect
my choice as I respect your choice to disagree with me
on this issue. I bear no malice toward anyone
involved. If the people involved at the district level
had chosen not to allow the club to form, I am sure the
district would have been sued, and the current legal
opinions and precedents indicate that in all
likelihood the district would have lost."
The school
district said in a statement that the federal "Equal
Access Act does not permit the school to discriminate
against a club based on the club's purpose and
viewpoint by not allowing it to form unless the
purpose of the club is unlawful." (
The Advocate
)
