A high school student in Ohio said she got a suspension because she posted anti-LGBTQ Bible passages in her school, which she believes is religious discrimination.
Gabby Helsinger, who goes to Lebanon High School, posted a video to her mother’s Facebook page where she said that she was accused of “targeting the GSA organization” at her school with her messages.
The video is captioned, “Lebanon schools celebrates [sic] evil and punishes righteousness!!”
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Helsinger said that she saw rainbow flags and pride posters at her school last Thursday.
“And I felt the need to write down some Bible verses so I could put them around my school,” she said. “And I wrote them down and I put them around the lockers, the walls.”
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She didn’t say which Bible verses she posted… but from the details in her video it sounds like they were the ones homophobes love to talk about, for example, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 and 1 Corinthians 6:9.
Helsinger said that she saw that teachers were removing her notes and then she was called to the principal’s office and told that she was receiving a one-day in-school suspension for “abuse of others, disrespect, rudeness.”
“I seen that there was people in my school that needed help,” she said. “They don’t need to be living in the confusion of wondering if they should be gay, bi, lesbian, trans — anything like that.”
“And I know that God is the only way that they can be healed by that, and that’s why I did it. I was not targeting any kind of organization.”
The student is already well-trained in the conservative Christian art of perpetual victimhood, so she said she asked the principal “why every time Jesus or God or anything like that gets broughten up in school, it gets taken down straight away. But we can put gay and pride stuff all over the school and not have to take it down.”
At the end of the video she admits that there are Christian student organizations that hold prayer sessions at her school.
Lebanon schools celebrates evil and punishes righteousness!!Parents – if this was happening to your child – what would you do?Please listen to her story. If you feel she is being unjustly punished please flood emails and calls to the Principal and Assistant Principal if Lebanon High School. Their email addresses and phone numbers are [email protected] [email protected] appealed the punishment stating “Posting a Bible verse is not abuse of others, disrespect/insolence/rudeness and in no way was it targeting GSA” but the school principal, Scott Butler, says “Gabby was targeting the GSA organization” and therefore must report to ISS Wednesday 3/13/19. Thanks, Tina and Gabby“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Mark 16:15 KJV
Posted by Tina Helsinger on Friday, March 8, 2019
A spokesperson for the school said that they are not able to comment on matters related to student discipline.
