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Right-Wing Group: Stop Bullying, But Don't Say Gay Is OK

Right-Wing Group: Stop Bullying, But Don't Say Gay Is OK

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Interventions against antigay bullying should never include acceptance of being gay, says a new pamphlet from right-wing group Mission: America.

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The antigay religious right group Mission: America is taking its own approach to addressing the problem of youth bullying, with a new pamphlet saying intervention to stop homophobic bullying should never include "saying 'gay' is okay."

"Kids who are overweight are sometimes bullied, too," reads the pamphlet, titled "Q and A for Kids About Homosexuality." "And we might want to make that person feel better. But it would be a mistake to say that overeating is a good thing, right?

"So tell your friends, in a nice way, that no one needs to be 'gay' or pretend to be the other gender. It's not the right thing to do! ... God loves everyone, but He doesn't want us to sin."

Mission: America leader Linda Harvey, known for many anti-LGBT statements, "said she wrote the brochure in response to requests by parents concerned their kids will be exposed to the 'sin of homosexuality,'" ABC News reports. The network quotes her as saying, "You can both strongly object to bullying or harassment or cruelty of any kind and also object to homosexuality -- the vast majority of the country holds both opinions simultaneously."

LGBT groups were quick to respond. "Mission: America might claim to discourage bullying, but telling someone that they are wrong, sinful, broken or 'pretending' is bullying in and of itself," noted a Human Rights Campaign blog post on the flier. And GLAAD president Herndon Graddick said, "Encouraging young people to reject or speak out against a peer because of something they can't change is bullying at its worst."

The Southern Poverty Law Center has classified Ohio-based Mission: America as a hate group, and Truth Wins Out has called Harvey "the most unhingedly homophobic woman in America." Among other things, she has said that school policies encouraging acceptance of LGBT people are "grooming" young people to become victims of pedophiles, as in the Penn State scandal.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.