Amidst a sea of conservative, homophobic backlash against the May 15 San Francisco ruling in favor of gay marriage, Clovis High School students in Clovis, N.M., are standing firmly in support of the LGBT community.
|
As Chavez said in an interview with the Albuquerque Journal, “We just wanted to show that there is a diversity. There [are] gay and lesbian couples in the school and they have a right to be in the yearbook just as much as anybody else does.” (Albuquerque Journal, May 23)
The decision to include two lesbian couples in a spread featuring school couples was discussed by both the students on the yearbook staff and the faculty supervisor, Carol Singletary. Singletary’s only concerns for the yearbook are that it be respectful of the students and operate within legal parameters.
The students at Clovis High School are now under attack by former Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley and a variety of Christian groups, all of whom argue that including members of the LGBT community in the yearbook does not reflect their community values. Community leaders, some of whom work on various aspects of the school district, are threatening to withhold future financial support for school programs.
Though Superintendent Rhonda Seidenwurm stated that there are no legal concerns stemming from this development and asserted that no school rules were violated, she has failed to make a strong statement defending the students against the homophobic right-wingers. Moreover, she apologized for not reinstating a policy that gives school officials oversight of the yearbook. She said the school will put in a policy providing more oversight on the yearbook next year.
In Clovis, community leaders are citing their religion as grounds to make LGBT students invisible, in spite of the fact that both Chavez and Hardison both consider themselves devoted Christians. Chavez and Hardison see the issue as one of cut-and-dry discrimination, not morality.
A movement is now building against right-wing homophobic Christian propaganda. As the mission statement for the Clergy for Justice states, “We disagree with these views of condemnation. … We are convinced that the Bible makes clear God’s unconditional love and acceptance of all people. We therefore welcome homosexual persons … into our Christian communities and organizations.”
As the homophobic right-wing prepares their counteroffensive against the gains of LGBT people, it is ever important that progressives and revolutionaries stand alongside the LGBT community and its allies. We applaud the bravery and conviction of the Clovis High School yearbook staff and stand in solidarity with their struggle for equality.
