Ontario Christian School in California has expelled a 14-year-old student because her parents are lesbians, the Associated Press reports via Yahoo! News. School policy dictates that at least one parent must avoid actions “immoral or inconsistent with a positive Christian life style, such as cohabitating without marriage or in a homosexual relationship.”
The parents should change schools, you may say. Certainly after this episode they may want to, but is it really that simple? Maybe they want their child to be in a Christian school to learn positive Christian values such as loving one’s neighbor. Maybe their local public school is not as good academically as Ontario Christian School. (I know nothing about the public school system in Ontario, CA; I’m generalizing because this could happen anywhere.) Let’s hope they find a solution that’s right for their family. (And hey, I’m sure they’d take care of the “cohabitating without marriage” problem if they could.)
The whole idea of punishing a child for the habits (good or bad) of the parents is ridiculous, if not stomach churning. To counter this, there’s also a bit of good news today: an editorial in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution arguing that a proposed state ban on adoption and fostering by gay and lesbian parents would be detrimental to the lives of the many children waiting for placement. It also cited evidence by several respected medical groups, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, indicating that simply having lesbian or gay parents is not detrimental to a child’s welfare.
Thanks to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund’s SmartBrief for the heads-up on these items.