Vulnerable Youth in Virginia are Under Attack
Vulnerable youth within our LGBTQ community here in Virginia are under attack.
They are being targeted by the Alliance Defending Freedom, an organization assisting the Hanover School Board in its effort to undermine legislation Virginia passed in 2020 which provides for the rights of LGBTQ individuals in schools.
The ADF defines itself as a Christian organization. I’m a Christian, and a pastor and a servant of the church for over four decades. The Alliance Defending Freedom does not speak for me. There is no conflict between the Christian faith and affirmation of the dignity, rights and identity of the LGBTQ community. In fact, the core values of our faith call us to action on this matter.
Here’s what’s happening. And here’s how we can help.
The ADF was founded in the 1990s by a group of men who were united in their opposition to the ordination of female pastors, their adherence to the view that wives should be subservient to their husbands, and their rejection of scientific knowledge regarding the complexity of creation, human biology and sexuality. As stated on their website, the ADF was formed in order to counter the work of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which they identify as their “opponent.” The ACLU had fought for the desegregation of schools, the advancement of women’s rights, and the protection of scientific education in the classroom.
Recently the ACLU of Virginia filed a lawsuit in Hanover County Circuit Court against the Hanover County School Board on behalf of five families who protest the school board’s failure to adopt policies protecting transgender students in accordance with state law and the Virginia Department of Education’s guidance. The ADF has now stepped in to advise the school board and promote an anti-LGBTQ position in defiance of Virginia law.
This Arizona-based organization prides itself on its successes in implementing anti-LGBTQ legislation across the U.S and abroad. Let's not give them another victory.
The lives of our LGBTQ young people are at stake. In a national survey, thirty to fifty percent of youth who identify as transgender or gender non-binary reported suicide attempts. Discriminatory laws, absence of protections and stigma, of the type promoted by the ADF, are risk factors that have been found to increase the chance someone will attempt to take their own life. With community support, including schools and congregations, LGBTQ youth—and, for that matter, all youth—are more likely to survive and thrive.
Why are we letting this allegedly faith-based organization with an anti-scientific viewpoint advise one of our local school boards on how to reject protections for our LGBTQ youth that have already been ordered by our elected officials and guided by local parents, students, and educators?
The ADF is not promoting core Christian values: love, compassion and care for the vulnerable and oppressed.
They are not protecting girls and women. They were founded on a view of girls and women as subservient to men. It comes as no surprise then that they fail to promote concrete protections for girls and women through legislation such as the Violence Against Women Act and budget expansion for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to address missing and murdered Indigenous women. The ADF opposes The Equality Act and The Equal Rights Amendment.
What can we do to protect our LGBTQ friends, family and neighbors, especially vulnerable young people?
Let’s take a close look at the organizations influencing policy in our community and in our country. What is the motivation for these attacks on LGBTQ community? Where is the funding coming from?
And let’s take action from a place of knowledge, compassion and solidarity.
Keep up. Speak up. Work together.
Stay informed about what is happening and show up to support your LGBTQ family members and friends. Talk to your faith leaders and ask about policies for welcoming the LGBTQ community into your congregation. Work together across faith traditions and within our schools to promote efforts to restore compassion and dignity. If you have questions, ask for answers. And contact me, I am here to answer questions and engage in dialogue, whatever you may wish to ask.
