Florida lawyer David C. Gibbs III, general counsel for the Christian Law Association (and son of its founder David Gibbs Jr.), received national attention for his role representing Terri Schiavo’s parents. Where is he now? Trying to prevent students at Okeechobee High School from convening a gay-straight alliance (GSA) club.
While passed to allow student-led Bible groups to meet where other non-curricular clubs have access, the federal Equal Access Act protects against any discrimination “on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings” – and, as courts have found, that includes GSAs. Gibbs, who is representing Okeechobee High, offers a “For me and not for thee” argument for discriminating against the club based on his claim that the “real motive” of GSAs is to promote sex, as he explained to the American Family Association’s news service:
Gibbs contends the club is not being honest about its real motives when it uses vague arguments about fairness and non-discrimination. “[T]he reality is they want to encourage sexual activity,” he says. “They want to encourage sexual experimentation, they want to encourage even experimentation with homosexuality and bisexuality and different things — and they believe this is good.”
