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BUHLER, Kan. — A Kansas middle school teacher has ignited a firestorm in the small rural Kansas community of Buhler after posting an anti-gay rant on Facebook in which he said same-sex marriage is akin to “murder, lying, stealing, or cheating.”
Jack Conkling
On the evening following President Barack Obama’s announcement supporting marriage equality for same-sex couples, Jack Conkling — a social studies teacher at Prairie Middle School, who also works as an assistant freshman women’s basketball coach at Buhler High School — wrote that he was driven to comment on the issue:
“All this talk in the news about gay marriage recently has finally driven me to write. Gay marriage is wrong because homosexuality is wrong. The Bible clearly states it is sin. Now I do not claim it to be a sin any worse than other sins. It ranks in God’s eyes the same as murder, lying, stealing, or cheating.
“His standards are perfect and ALL have sinned and fallen short of His glory. Sin is sin and we all deserve hell. Only those who accept Christ as Lord and daily with the help of the Spirit do their best to turn from sin will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. There aren’t multiple ways to get to Heaven. There is one. To many this may seem close minded and antagonistic, but it doesn’t make it any less true.
“Folks I am willing to admit that my depravity is just as great as anyone else’s, and without Christ I’d be destined for hell, if not for the undeserved grace of God. I’m not condemning gay marriage because I hate gay people. I am doing it because those who embrace it will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And I desire that for no one.”
Conkling, whose Facebook page stated that he is a devout Christian, was immediately taken to task by the chairman of the Hutchinson chapter of of the Kansas Equality Coalition, Jon Powell, who said, “Conkling’s inflammatory statements could make students think it’s OK to bully fellow students.”
Conkling’s Facebook page, most of which is now private for friends only, listed numerous current students among his 450+ “friends.” Powell termed the posting “reckless,” “dangerous” and “irresponsible.”
Craig Williams, Prairie Middle School’s principal told The Hutchinson News the school does not have a Facebook policy for teachers.
“We’re looking into it,” Williams said, but said he could not talk about a personnel matter.
Williams did not respond to requests for comment from LGBTQ Nation, nor did district Superintendent Dan Stiffler, who told the local press that the school district’s administrators had a technology committee already looking at a policy for staff regarding use of social media.
Kansas Equality Coalition Executive Director Thomas Witt told LGBTQ Nation that although Kansas does have anti-bullying laws on the books, situations like Conkling’s are problematic.
“Mr. Conkling’s remarks may hurt himself in the short run but the problem is the negative impact on the LGBT students in the long run,” he said.
Witt noted that although the KEC is not asking for his resignation or termination due to this incident, it does serve to raise awareness that school district employees and students are engaging in gay bashing.
Filed under: Kansas
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That isn’t surprising.
Fire the piece of shit right now!
So are his looks! He really shouldn’t post pics of himself or speak because being ugly and stupid is not a good look.
The good thing about the article is that they give a link to his facebook page so your able to send him an email as I did :-)
He probably likes little boys..
That teacher is an asshole.
Seriously? What an idiot!!!
What. The. Hell.
Another one who needs to come out of the closet
isn’t it also leviticus that mentions men should not have beards?…..prolly ’cause it looks like a snatch
Such statements make me wonder where the anger and volatility are coming from. Perhaps the closet.
Moron
homophopiea exists evewhere
Another closet case we will find out about in a year or so in an airport restroom.
We do realize that the part of the bible that says homosexuality is a sin also says rape mean the victim shoudl marry the rapist, and a bunch of other shitty things, correct?
He looks more Gay than I do!!!!
why are we disregarding part of that section, but acting liek another part is the most important part of the whole book?
Freedom means that even douche bags are entitled to opinions.
They really need to background check teachers better.
teachers aren’t allowed to even have facebooks technically
Typical self hating closet case.
Thou protest too much…Girl, it’s okay. Kick that closet door down and strut out on that Catwalk in your new pair of Ruby Red Slippers.
loser
You either agree with the bible or you don’t, this whole i lie kthis part but I don’t liek that part, using it for your own social gains is bullshit and I disagree with that method altogether.
Sure does. This guy is an absolute moron. He should be banned from ever being a teacher again, and banned from facebook!
cousin-fucking does strange things to the brain.
Is this dude for real. What an idiot! I guess they will hire an racist homophobic asshole in his school system.
Such a load of B.S.
Gtfoh!!!!! Smh #ignorance
He needs to get a life cummr u little ass I will show u
Bullshit!!
Being from Kansas alliance have yo say is FUCK this guy he’s obviously a dumbass… Typical rural community…
I have a feeling if a teacher said something positive about homosexuality..like it’s okay to be gay. People would be outraged and the teacher would be fired.
Dam Bible thumper. You can’t pick and choose what part of the bible to believe. It also says NO HAIRCUTS NO TATTOOS. All these homophobes need to practice love not hate.
Umm. Did anyone else catch his interest in John Wayne Gacy?
Her future son or daughter will be born gay.
oh, DUDE, u need to come OUT of that CLOSET! who u think yer foolin?
How is gay marriage the same as “murder, lying, stealing and cheating”? Something is wrong with his dome piece. Fire him and send him to the looney bin! Sorry, believing in ghosts and fairy tales is not normal. Since Obama announced his support, homophobes have lost their minds. It’ll only get worse until something is done.
I love how many of these people try to sugar coat there condemnation and hatred of LGBT people. He’s basically saying that if you don’t come out against gays and gay marriage then not only are the gays going to Hell, but so are you.
well you can’t institute (un) intelligent design (creationism) without a subcourse in bigotry and hatred. like a Nazi Burger and KKKurly fries!
Remember there are those who would like to have those of us who express support for LGBT equality on Facebook to be fired as well. As long as this teacher does not harass or slander a specific individual or discriminate against his LGBT students in the classroom, he is still entitled to his freedom to express his opinion as despicable, ignorant, and misinformed as it is. Calling for his firing without evidence of illegal wrongdoing is undemocratic. However, denouncing his homophobic remarks in a civil manner is most certainly democratic.
Another one ?? Will they never learn ?
Guess he won ‘t be teaching much longer.
He’s a female basketball coach and a history teacher. It’s not like he teaches anything important. He’s probably a pedo…
get a job.
Go to hell!
It’s ridiculous and pathetic how these ignorant homophobes get so bent out of shape over something as simple as giving equal rights to EVERYONE!
How sad, especially that he’s a Social Studies teacher. He should know better than to disparage any of his students like that. ANY teacher who insults their students to such a degree, whether it’s because they’re gay or a different ethnicity or left-handed, should be reprimanded.
I can only imagine the bias with which he teaches social studies. Oh my.
Can we just nuke Kansas now!
I am not defending this jerk’s remarks, but please examine some of the comments being made here that discriminate against religion. Not all people of faith are homophobic. Indeed, some are supportive and inclusive. Don’t make assumptions and lose allies.
FIRE THE BITCH
Actually, he has it a bit wrong. Gay marriage is more akin, Biblically, to eating shrimp, wearing linen and wool in the same garment, or consulting tarot cards.
I sent an email to the superintendent of his school system! I have a gay son and was the ex director of a glbtq youth group for about 15 years. PLUS I was a middle school teacher for 35 years! This teacher must stop his homophobic hate…or at least…keep his stupid mouth SHUT!!!!!
what Outragous LIES !!
Fire him. He’s not upholding his duty of taking care of all students, so he needs to leave his job as a teacher. It’s as simple as that.
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Republicans are calling it their “Violence Against Women Act.” The truth is any bill that discriminates against women because of their ethnic background or sexual orientation is not worthy of being called the Violence Against Women Act.
Will you stand with us for protecting all women in the Violence Against Women Act?
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Rep. Gwen Moore
dang even ^^^^ that was a waste of energy in responding to this article.
yes, but isn’t it always the same? some stupid bigot making stupid comments? been that way throughout history. I dare someone on facebook to agree with this?you may agree with it, but you will never say so in a public forum like this…
don’t like don’t like don’t like — he should be banned from teaching
oh yeah i am gay so i must be a murderer a liar and a theif and a cheater
He looks gay
He is going to get Fired!!
What a bonehead! This tyoe of hate we Will all be seeing much more of and it Will get ugly until help comes our way! We have to stay strong and stand firm! Change is coming soon! You cant stop a snowball from rolling down a hill it just grows bigger!
send him to Iran
I thought that teachers weren’t supposed to state these kinds of beliefs in the classroom! I know that teachers on ANY level are NOT supposed to give their opinion on politics, religion and other topics that would fall under this, at least where I live in Canada. I know for a fact even some of my profs have had to keep their mouths shut when an election came up. As a future educator and gay, I will never state my (dis)belief in one or more said groups. I will only encourage that we see the similarities, and appreciate the differences we all have and share. This man is a disgrace to teachers on all levels, he needs to be fired based on the fact that he can’t just rant and rave about this. There is a time and place and Facebook is NOT the place to air your dirty laundry; Good or bad. I just hope for the sake of the children, he didn’t instill hatred or anything of the sort.
Teachers are hired to teach not judge…
This teacher is an asshole who I’d like to bitch slap in the face -_-”
So if (and I pray it doesn’t happen) one of his students kills themself after reading his FB post, what crime should he be charged with?
Religious perverts are always obsessed with homosexual acts. They thing about graphic details of gay sex more often than the Men of Falcon.
Looking at his picture, my gaydar says he may be one of those people that study a couple of weeks ago mentioned, about inner desires… Just saying that’s my first impression
I am bisexaul and I completely support the gay community and equal rights for everyone, gay or straight. However, I also support his right to post whatever he wants on his fb, whether I agree with him or not. He has the right to post an anti gay status on his fb page. But I will also say, being gay is definitely NOT like murder, theft, cheating and/or lying. Being gay doesn’t harm anyone.
NO. This man should not be fired. He is allowed to spout whatever filth he wants to on his private, personal site.
You need to understand that when you call for these morons to be fired you put those of us on the other side in jeopardy, too. I do not want a precedent set that statements on a personal site can be a friable offense. If he brings that attitude into the classroom (and how can he not?) then THAT is where he needs to be fired.
Really. This is a very dangerous thing to do. Don’t put all of us teachers who speak out against bigotry inn our sites and make very strong statements in favor of equality and against bigotry in danger of being fired. We are already sticking our necks out to create safe spaces for our students.
If you really understand the contexts in which the Books of the Bible were written and you can read the Hebrew text of the Old Testament and the Greek Text of the New Testament, you will find nothing about homosexuality being a sin.
He looks like a gay
Brian, I have no opinion on whether the man should be fired. However, privacy on facebook is a mere illusion. As a teacher, students will look you up, parents will look you up and posts you make are visible to people even when you think they are not. As a general rule, facebook is not a wise place to post strong statements. It tends to only lead to trouble.
Either way. It’s not in his classroom. Teachers are entitled to their freedom of expression just like anyone else when not on duty. I do not want a chilling affect on progressive minded teachers in heavily conservative areas. Or the other way around, for that matter.
Well, my point is that posting strong statements on facebook is playing with fire. Furthermore, facebook blurs the distinction between personal and professional life.
This serves as a good reminder to self monitor my profile right now to make sure that I don’t have anything too strong posted.
I have mine fairly locked down and actively monitor the settings. FB is tricky with their privacy settings.
what a total jerk
he probably is a closet case. That’s the case with most guys who are so rabidly anti-gay.
the problem with homophobes. mostly those using the bible as slander is what they fail to realize is that the bible says “u should not take up a man as u would ur wife” hmmm…sounds like lusty sex to me. being gay is not a choice. having sex with many strangers is. falling in love is a compulsion of heartwarming desire. when done in all truth. homosexuality could never be the equivalent of anything more then simplistic human nature. the one thing we all look for. that one true soul mate. being homosexual is a sin. but ONLY if you do it for random recreation sad thing is straight ppl do it as well. so we’re all going to hell :) (i dont really believe in hell fyi..earth is hell enough no loving god would want to punish any of his creations. and if he is omnipotent why not give em another chance to reedeem themselves. thus endless cycle of reincarnation until ones mind reaches the point of gnostic salvation) they bring up sodom and gomora how ever u spell it idc. keep in mind there was prostitution…sex in the streets ppl having sex just to get off. murders. theft. it was a city given over to the carnal. most like your average day america. so if god was going to destroy us he would have already done so. not because we decided to let gay ppl get married. its not that serious ppl. dont let religion blind you. and fyi jesus said to love all others as i have loved you. he never once said “but fuck the gays,the pagans, the muslims blah blah blah” fyi srry to break it to y’all but christianity is just a different form of paganism. when u pray youre saying your “spells” when u go to church and sing praise and worship youre doing your “rituals” when u try and save sex for marriage your just reaffirming that sex is something that should b done in a loving manner to help keep the population surviving. am i anti-christian? hell no. im not anti religion anything. im just anti using your faith to justify taking others rights away. the bible was used to state slavery of the african americans it was used to discriminate against inter racial marriage. it was used to say its okay to have polygamy. it was used as an excuse to impede on the rights of others several thousand times. so please. do as youre bible says and love others as you wished to be loved and stop making youre religion look bad and this goes for all religious thumpers. its not your choice. we dont tell u who to marry. so dont tell the lbgt community. and fyi….the bible also said it was custom for parents to arrange who u married. its only been a recent thing for ppl to b able to decide who to marry. so if u want to live the bible life. start letting your parents decide who u marry. dont like that idea? neither do i.
I think there will be a vacancy at a school… time to send resume’s if your in the area :P
lol ^
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=290187874408187&set=a.124076224352687.28093.123892551037721&type=1&theater
as you can see, they have used the same ammunition in the past to try and subjugate other groups… sorry, it failed in the past, and it is failing right now.
judging..which he clearly has hit the nail on the head. Sad that a teacher, someone whom which children look up to would post such crap. In reality our world truly saddens me. It doesn’t matter who you are white, black, gay, bi, straight and so on people should just be able to be themselves without the judging and i’m more than sure that this does not help the bullying issues..which have gone on for many of years and things like this for sure do not help making matters any easier. I dealt with it when i was a child, dropped out of school because of bullies..and i still pay for the fact i let them win today. Yes i am gay, but nobody knew i was then and i can’t imagine how much worse things could have really been on me. people tell me all the time i’m gonna go to hell..while most that tell me are pure hypocrites!! Yeah they go to church on Sunday but how many people in a year can i count i know you slept with and how many beers do you drink on a daily basis..well i want this person to tell me just one more time how i’m going to hell..cause that’s when i’m gonna say well i’m sorry you feel this way..but i have many reasons to make me think i will make it to heaven..first off i am a believer in god..but the one thing that i just know is my key to heaven is my heart..i have one of the kindest hearts a person could ever have. I treat people with respect and how i want to be treated. I have friends of all kinds..all of which i consider a part of my family no matter if their white,black, gay, bi or straight they all mean the world to me. I am very glad that i have such a awesome group of people in my life that i care and love each and every one of them dearly. I am truly blessed. In my opinion the teacher should be fired..not only for his post on fb but for the issues he may possibly cause from what he wrote. A teacher is someone a child looks up to for guidance, many children admire their teachers and say wow i wish i could be just like him or her. He has shown a horrible example to the children of his school..but not only those so many kids have a facebook and i’m sure many have read what he posted. Is sad that he set such a horrible example for children and he should truly be quite ashamed of his actions. He is truly a disgrace to teachers. I pray his hatred statements do not cause any problems for his students or other children whom have read his post. I think Karma will bite this one..or so i can say.. i hope so. May God Bless All Our Children! <3 <3
dont be sad for him. his parents and his community raised him to teach hatred. so now he’s teaching it to others.
dumbass
He’s a social sciences teacher, wherever he did his degree I don’t know. I really feel for these kinds of people because it just shows you how narrow minded they are. They rest their trust on a portion of an ancient text where in the same paragraph it says not to eat crayfish, to stone people who work on Sunday, to kick your daughter out when she menstruates and to sell her into slavery and if she refuses…kill her for disobedience, and much more. This gentleman obviously is insecure about a few things to make such a pointless hate rant for no need, requirement or reason.
geez, dude…get a life
Sounds like he may be hiding something.
Actually I agree with Brian. Getting him fired would only open the door to retaliation. The worse we can do to people like him who still think they’ll turn back the clock by spouting such drivel is to shake our heads sadly and go on about the business of affecting change and improving lives.
ASSHOLE……
hell, looking at him…looks like he’s gay…repressed feelings much???
These HATERS really need to get a life. And I am a teacher~~this is the best this school has to offer??? Very Sad!! Again..the fricking “Bible Belt”..religion. that promates HATE~not what Jesus really taught!! Same one him and the school district he works for~
guess what dumbass. not everyone believes in this thing you call the holy book. now before you go shoving your religion down everyones throat, learn a little respect and quit judging. love is love. homosexuality close too murder? dont think so if jesus was real he wouldnt hate people on who they love
Hmmmm, we would love to know what’s in HIS closet?
Simply another Biblical challenged person trying to stand out! They need educated in the worst way because they inflame and ignite others narrow minded ways.
that man should be fired and banned from teaching at any school.!
BAD GUY.
fire him….
Ya gotta remember a while back a woman lost her job as a teacher do to some person vacation pictures that she had posted on her Facebook page showing her and some adult friends toasting with a drink and having a bottle of alcohol in her hands,that in MY mind was wrong to fire her but this guy…this is not only endorsing but spreading hate. When you are in certain arenas you need to not only watch what you say but where you say them. Ok I’ll jump off my stump now.SL
I may not like this guys opinion but he is entitled to it! It is in his own personal life and his personal Facebook page! He definitely needs to b educated on how God really is and loves everyone but he will have to answer to his own sin when it comes to God!
This man needs to realize he has a responsibility as a mentor. If you so choose to post your “personal” opinions then do not allow your students to friend you on facebook. IMO friending students is in itself a very controversial issue and for many crosses the line even when you are responsible with your posts
A mouth can be as dangerous as a loaded weapon. How do these fanatics get away with this behavior? This is the same state where sodomy between gay people is still a crime, even though the Supreme Court ruled against it for All 50 States, no ‘special’ treatment for Kansas. Redneck politics…
God also wanted you to love your neighbor and leave the judgement to him!!
I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw that his interests include John Wayne Gacy, Slim Jims, Mountain Dew, and Cheez It’s. This guy is a real winner, ding ding ding! Please keep the idiots rolling.
[email protected]
i might not be the smartest person in the world but i know im smarter than this dumb ass because i know the difference between murder and marriage, and our tax dollars pay for these schmucks
He is an idiot…
Let me guess, his privacy settings are virtually non-existent, how convenient.