The Equality State? Apparently not!

I hope you've all caught wind of what recently went down in Wheatland, Wyoming:  some student activists attempted to hang signs that proclaimed there was "no place for hate," but the school board begged to differ.  They removed the signs because a sponsor of the program promoted lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.  Now how does this reflect on the state I call home?  Not too well, that's for sure.  In an interview, a school board member proudly announced that homosexuality is not "normal"--but don't worry! He said that he "didn't have anything against them." Hmm, well that makes it alright.

This board member also went on to say that by funding such a project, the aforemetioned group supporting LGBT rights is pummeling Wyoming with a "pro-gay marriage" agenda, which Wheatland does not support.  There's nothing wrong with this state being know as conservative, but something we don't need is to be known for discriminatory practices--and that's exactly what the Wheatland school board has done.  Instead, why not tell the complainers that although they have their right to free speech, so does the LGBT community and its supporters.

As it turns out, school administrators approved the signs, but some particularly lovely Wyomingites complained, resulting in the sign's removal.  Furthermore, another  board member told the press that it's okay for gay people to live the way in which they do, but that it doesn't "need to be publicly displayed in a school."  So instead of promoting equality and diversity, this has simply added to our reputation as a "place for hate."  After all, the last time many heard from Wyoming was after the tragic death of Matthew Shepard.  Let's stop getting put on the map because of things like these!

If you want to do something about this, you can sign this petition:
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/NoBanningTheBanner/

Source:  http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/01/22/Wyoming_School_Board_Removes_Anti_hate_Banners/
http://www.queerty.com/pro-gay-marriage-agenda-infiltrating-wyoming-school-the-solution-ban-no-place-for-hate-signs-20100122/