Canada Catholic School Chair Compares LGBT Students To Nazis

Ah, Catholic school. Angry nuns, smoking in the bathroom and... rampant intolerance of LGBT students. Awesome.

That's the news out of Canada, according to Change.org's Gay Rights blogger Brandon Miller. The Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB) in Ontario, Canada has banned Gay-Straight Alliance clubs in their schools.

GSAs are awesome chances to build bridges between LGBT students and straight allies. They're hubs for social justice and help create a culture of acceptance at school.

Small wonder, then, that Halton board chair Alice Anne LeMay is against them.  “We don’t have Nazi groups either,” she mused in an interview with Canadian LGBT publication Xtra! reports. “Gay-straight alliances are banned because they are not within the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

Wow. Comparing gay students to Nazis. That is a stunning example of ignorance and intolerance. It's a pity LeMay didn't have a GSA to join when she was in school. She might have learned something.

In the U.S., there are 4,000 GSAs registered with the GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network). Their existence improves the school environment for all students - not just LGBT kids. With students losing their lives because of anti-gay bullying and lawmakers from all political parties stepping up to make schools safer, why would educators in Canada take a step in the opposite direction?

Change.org writer Brandon Miller has launched a campaign asking the school district to allow GSAs in the district's eight high schools. Add your voice and tell the district to allow students to teach administrators a thing or two and practice tolerance in schools.

Photo credit: Michael 1952 via Flickr

by Carol Scott