Posted on 09/26/2005 10:31:48 PM PDT by Bonaparte
Daughter of lesbian couple expelled By Mason Stockstill, Staff Writer ONTARIO - A Chino couple plans to picket a Christian school in Ontario on Monday because officials expelled their daughter after learning her parents are lesbians. Tina Clark said the superintendent of Ontario Christian High School gave her a letter explaining that 14-year-old freshman Shay Clark was being kicked out because her parents' sexual orientation is "inconsistent with a positive Christian life style." "My sexual orientation should have nothing to do with her getting an education," Tina Clark said. "I'm the one that's gay. My daughter's not. Why should her civil rights be infringed?" Shay was crushed by what happened earlier this week, which she said came as a surprise. "I knew that I might have problems," Shay said. "But I never thought it would go that far." Principal Tim Hoekstra and Superintendent Len Stob did not return repeated calls Thursday and Friday seeking comment. Phone calls to several school trustees also were not returned. Clark and her partner, Mitzi Gray, have been together for 22 years. They didn't expect Shay would experience discrimination at the school because her older sister had attended Ontario Christian schools from sixth through ninth grade. Additionally, Shay said her friends knew she lived in a home with two mothers, and "it was never a problem." On Tuesday, however, that changed. Gray said when she went to an unrelated parent meeting that Clark was unable to attend, school administrators were confused by her different last name. The next day, both women were called in and asked point-blank if they were gay, Clark said. When they said they were, Shay was expelled. "These are the same people that patted me on the back the Friday before that and asked me how my week had gone," Clark said. The family's situation is not unusual, said Johnny Chagolla of the Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance, a gay-rights organization in San Bernardino. Often, he said, students at religious schools are more likely to face discrimination. "In cases like this, there's a concern," Chagolla said. "A lot of (religious school officials) say they're very open and affirming, and then you see this, and it contradicts what they're saying." A similar situation arose earlier this year at a Catholic school in Costa Mesa, when parents pressured administrators into barring gay parents after a gay couple enrolled their twin sons at the school. Ontario Christian is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church, a denomination that considers homosexuality a "condition of disordered sexuality," according to the Web site of the Christian Reformed Church of North America. The church considers the act of homosexual sex to be a sin, which "must be condemned as incompatible with obedience to the will of God as revealed in scripture." However, according to the group's Web site, the church should help gay Christians and "give them support toward healing and wholeness." As the family gathered outside the school for a news conference Friday, students and staff peered at the scene out of the windows. Receptionist Cory Overstreet said administrators would not be available to comment. According to the letter signed by Stob, school officials were not aware of Clark and Gray's relationship at the time Shay was admitted. But both women said that question was never asked, and that both of their names were included in all of the required paperwork. "Had we known they were against homosexuality, we would never have sought this school out," Gray said. "It wasn't like we announced it to the world, but it wasn't a secret, either. We've always been a family." Shay's educational future is unclear. At first, Clark had hoped there was a way Shay could return to Ontario Christian. But now, no one in the family backs that idea. The family is looking for another private school Shay can attend, but the admissions process is typically long, and she might not get in anywhere this year. Public school will probably be the answer for now, Clark said. After she gets to a new school, the family may consider legal action, Clark said. The expulsion was difficult for Shay, who said she is upset about being separated from her friends. As for the school's leadership, "They should be embarrassed," Shay said. - Mason Stockstill can be reached by e-mail mason.stockstill@dailybulletin.com , or by phone at (909) 483-9354
Women plan to protest outside Ontario Christian school
There you go again. Your logic is simply undiagrammable.
You're not a Christian, so you don't have to respond to Christian arguments.
BUT you feel free to fault an institution for not being good Christians... and you'll take a verse out of context to seal your point.
So you feel you know enough of Christianity to tell others how to be what you're not... but not enough to be held accountable for anything you say.
This is fairly typical, but still nonsensical. I have never read the Koran through; I don't tell Muslims how to be good Muslims. I've never read the Book of Mormon all the way through; I don't tell Mormons how to be good Mormons.
What makes you feel qualified to tell this school they're not being good Christians?
Dan
I just happen to believe that the child is more important than what her mother does with her crotch.
This is the first thing you've said that I can fully agree with, radioman.
And although you now admit that you're "not a Biblical guy," that doesn't stop you from presenting yourself as a greater authority than Paul, an apostle of Jesus Himself, and passing judgment on Christians who are much more "Biblical guys" than you are.
One fact is inescapable, radioman. If you criticize Christians who reject families that persist in unrepentent sin, then you also criticize Jesus Himself for the same thing. For He commands us to put Him above all others, including our parents.
By her own public statement, quoted in the article, Shay Clark does not place Jesus above her "parents.'" After years of opportunity to love God above these unrepentent sinners, she has chosen the unrepentent sinners over God.
This entire "family" has remained unrepentent for years. They are as shameless as you are when you call your own self-contradiction "a perspective on my opinion for the sake of honesty." The school is adhering strictly to the teachings and example of Jesus and his apostles.
Let me try out a theory. This whole mess has nothing to do with Christians. It has to do with the parents of other kids not wanting their kids "exposed" to lesbians.
BibChr, I pray the Lord that He will one day gift me with eloquence such as yours.
Were you conscious that you were doing exactly what I described, in that posting?
In other words, you insist on the right to whine and snipe, but accept no responsibility for the content or quality of your whining, bail out when you receive contentful response, then simply repeat your original whining and sniping.
Typical liberal. In that regard, even if in no other.
Dan
"...the teachings of your prophet..."
You're really not a "Biblical guy" at all, are you? Demoting Jesus Christ, the Living God, to the rank of a mere "prophet"?
Forgive me for laughing, but you are the last person on Earth to lecture Christians on Christianity. At this point, and since you are unwilling to engage rational argument, your strongest argument would be silence.
Well, radioman, Jesus, Who is God, Who has been here since the foundation, and Who has always been with the Father, expelled our parents, Adam and Even, from the paradise of the garden and punished all the generations for their original sin. So what do you think the answer to your question is?
[radioman]: " Sounds like Islam!"
___________________
Oh, my, my, my. Adhering strictly to one's principles puts one in league with Islamics?
Some people might think you need rest.
What a lame strawman. The child is being 'hurt' due to the dishonest actions of her alledged 'parents', plain and simple. They sought to use this as a wedge issue to force a Christian Church to condone homosexual behavior. They used this girl as a pawn in their little game. So who's punishing/hurting who? Behavior has consequences and these 'parent's' actions have cause this to occur.
This isn't about religion, despite what the other posters say.
The Father punished the blameless Son for our sins so that we might escape our richly deserved punishment and He did so with the full cooperation of the Son.
How is that, radioman?
It's all about balancing justice with mercy.
The court sends the murdering family man to prison and his child is now without a source of support. It's too bad, but if he isn't sent to prison, murder goes unpunished.
Just as God balances His perfect justice with His perfect mercy, we must balance our imperfect justice with our imperfect mercy.
LOL! Keep saying it, durasell. Maybe you'll start believing it. Are you sure you're not really the Eveready Bunny?
Some people simply do not like lesbians. They find them offensive.
Do you mean some others might dislike lesbianism because their scriptures tell them it's an abomination?
Is that possible?
Absolutely. But I have seen religious folks form lasting and genuine bonds with gay people, including lesbians. I have seen ministers and priests comfort them when in distress. And I have seen them accepted and welcomed into churches. Including lesbians.
That said, I, personnally, am not that crazy about their unseemly skill at softball. Losing to a lesbian is still losing to a girl. I can't get past that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.