A recent issue of high school newspaper in Wisconsin featuring a pro-con editorial debate on the issue of adoption by gay couples is generating controversy due to the fact that the “con” side of the argument was filled with multiple passages calling homosexuality an “abomination” and citations of Bible verses calling for gays to be put to death:
For good measure, the author even managed to cram in a citation of notorious anti-gay “researcher” Paul Cameron.
School officials have apologized for the piece and so, of course, the professional anti-gay bigots at Liberty Counsel are outraged and accusing the school of censorship:
In its statement, the school “sincerely apologized” — not for allowing the topic to begin with, but rather, for the Biblical viewpoint presented by one student. The school claimed that the censored article created a “negative environment.” Liberty Counsel believes that school officials have violated the First Amendment protections of both free expression and religious freedom … Steve Crampton, Vice President of Legal Affairs and General Counsel for Liberty Counsel, commented: “When you censor one side of the debate and allow the other side to fully present their case, you have hopelessly skewed the argument and effectively endorsed one side. Shawano’s actions were not only unconstitutional, but were also the highest form of educational hypocrisy. This is not education, it is indoctrination. The school should apologize – not for the student’s viewpoint, but for its shameful censorship.”
Of course, as we have noted before, there is something rather ironic about people who work for an organization affiliated with a university that blocks access to critical newspapers and refuses to allow the formation of a Democratic Club on campus to be complaining about censorship and indoctrination.
