Ireland Moves to Protect Gay Teachers in Religious Run Schools

In a move that needs to replicated in the United States, Ireland is moving forward legislation that would grant employment protections to gay, lesbian and bi-sexual teachers even in schools run by religious institutions.  The move is yet another resounding slap in the face to the Roman Catholic Church which for decades - if not centuries - put protecting predators and sadist above protecting children.   Here in America, such religious affiliated schools typically enjoy tax-exempt status and in some instances receive state funds.  To continue to receive these benefit - which I personally would like to see eliminated all together - at a minimum the simple quid pro quo is that such institutions should be required to apply non-discrimination policies to all teachers, gay or straight.  Sadly, it will not happen any time soon give the GOP's self-prostitution to the "godly folk" best known for hatred towards others and wearing ignorance as a badge of honor.  But back to Ireland.  Here are details from The Advocate:

Ireland’s government this week passed an amendment to the Employment Equality Act that would allow LGB employees working in religious-run organizations, such as schools and hospitals, to be out at work without fear of being fired, according to Irish LGBT site The Out Most.

The bill, which on Tuesday passed the first half of the two-chamber Irish legislature, the Seanad, still has to still pass the final stage in the Dáil before it can become law.

Leaders of the INTO LGBT Teachers’ Group cheered the amendment, telling reporters it will have a hugely positive effect on gay, lesbian, and bisexual teachers.

“LGB teachers can be secure in the knowledge that speaking about our families and our relationships, in the same way as our colleagues, and that being gay or lesbian will have no bearing on job security or on prospects for promotion,” said Anne Marie Lillis, the chairwoman of the INTO LGBT Teachers’ Group. “When signed into law this legislation will end the threat of discrimination in primary schools based on sexual orientation.”


Minister of State for Equality Aodhán Ó Ríordáin promised his offices are "working hard" to ensure the measure is enacted before the new school year begins in September. Gay and lesbian workers in other professions have had legal protections from discrimination since the 1990s.  

The Plight of Being a Gay Teacher

In a few weeks the Virginia General Assembly will go into session and, as in past years, attempts will be made to win passage of bill(s) that would provide employment protections for LGBT Virginians.  Under existing Virginia law, even state departments and institutions are free to fire employees based on their sexual orientation.  Opposing such legislation will be The Family Foundation ("TFF"), a hate group in all but formal designation by the Southern Poverty Law Center.  Falling all over themselves to prostitute themselves to TFF will be members of the Republican Party of Virginia.  As set out on its website, TFF believes that (i) students should be able to proselytize in school and make anti-gay statements (i.e., bully LGBT students), (ii) Christians deserve special rights under the guise of "religious freedom," and (iii) that employers should be able to fire gays at will.  A piece in The Atlantic looks at the plight of teachers in Virginia and other anti-gay states where they can now marry but still be fired at will.  Here are excerpts:

Very early in his career teaching in New York, Glenn Bunger witnessed a student getting called "faggot" in between classes, but he hesitated to respond. As a gay teacher who hadn’t come out to his students or staff, he felt hamstrung. 

"I worried: If I get involved, what will others think? Will they associate this with me? Is my reaction right now really about me? Or about the student? I was always processing these questions and insecurities that prevented me from speaking out."

Bunger remained silent that day but later brought up the issue to his supervisor. It was clear from the conversation that the supervisor felt students like this didn’t need any sympathy but, rather, just some "toughening up," Bunger said.

Bunger never came out to the school's leadership or any of his students during his first two years teaching. Many other LGBT teachers in the United States have long struggled with this same decision of whether to make their sexual orientations public—and the "extra layer" of worries that comes with it. The country's long history of discrimination towards LGBT teachers could help explain why so many of these educators are afraid to come out.

Currently, federal law protects people from workplace discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, religion, sex, age, and disability. But the law fails to specifically address sexual orientation. A recent executive order by President Barack Obama protects any federal employee or contractor—around 28 million workers, or one-fifth of the American workforce—from discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, it doesn't cover teachers, who are subject to state and local laws.

In five states—Indiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia—gay people can get legally married but also legally fired by an employer for being gay . . . 

Even teachers in states with legal protection worry that homophobic school leaders can still find a way to fire them regardless. "There is always the fear that if you were to share this, it could color how staff and administration view your performance, skew their evaluations of you, or otherwise influence whether you stay hired or not," said Jasmin Torres, who directs leadership development efforts for Teach for America in the Chicago area and oversees the office's LGBT initiatives.

Although the American Psychological Association and numerous other research organizations have concluded that homosexuality does not make someone more likely to sexually abuse children, Conservative organizations such the Family Research Council [TFF is affiliated with FRC] and the American College of Pediatricians—a group that requires its members to "hold true to the group's core beliefs of the traditional family unit" before joining—argue that homosexuality is a threat to children.

[B]eing in the closet comes with an extra layer of work—and stress. "During my first few years teaching, I was lonely," she said. "You are constantly thinking about what you’re saying, what you’re not saying, whether you’re giving anything away. You become hyper-aware of how people perceive you, and you worry that you’re not allowed to be your genuine self at work." 

There's more in the piece that deserves a read.  It is time for religious freedom for all and not just special rights for Christofascists and other religious extremists who cling to hate and bigotry to support their sick and toxic religious beliefs.  There are few more selfish and self-centered than the "godly folk."

 

Roman Catholic Church: Vigilant Against Gay Teachers, But Coddles Child Rapists

Events at an Ohio Catholic school put in sharp focus the warped priorities and morality of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy.  If you are a priest who molests and rapes children and youths, you can rely on a Vatican orchestrated conspiracy to protect you and maintain you on the payroll.  And if you are a member of the high clergy and things get too hot with local police authorities, you can count on a plum position at the Vatican to keep you out of the clutches of the authorities (e.g., Cardinal Law who was whisked out of Boston to Rome).  But if you are a gay teacher in a Catholic school  and your secret is inadvertently leaked, you will be unemployed before you know what hits you.   A piece in the New York Daily News looks at what happened to Carla Hale (pictured below), who was outed as a lesbian after her mother’s obituary listed her girlfriend as a survivor.  Here are highlights:

An Ohio woman was fired from her job of 19 years at a Catholic high school after being outed as gay.  But the Columbus, Ohio, community has rallied around Carla Hale, circulating a petition urging her reinstatement to Bishop Watterson High School.

“It’s amazing that they’ve come together and rallied around this situation,” Hale told the Columbus Dispatch. “I’m in awe of them.”

The physical education teacher took time off from school in February in the wake of her mother’s death. Her mother’s obituary mentioned Hale and her female partner as survivors, which attracted the attention of an “appalled” parent.



“If not for an obituary that appeared in the paper, none of this would be happening,” she said.  That parent wrote an anonymous letter to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, and administrators responded by firing Hale later in March for violating a morality clause.

Hale has filed a grievance and may also have on her side a Columbus city ordinance that prohibits employers from discriminating based on sexual orientation. She’s hired a lawyer, Thomas Tootle, who said fear of repercussions from the Catholic Church “forces people in the closet.”

Hale says her sexuality was never an issue during her 19 years at Bishop Watterson.  “I’m a very private person. I think the kids realize I’m there if they need me, but I would never talk about anything like that,” she said. “If they had to describe me, they would say I’m a fanatic about soccer, I have a dog named Boomer and I have three kids I talk about a lot. But beyond that, they wouldn’t know anything else about me.”

“The school claims its mission is to teach its students about love, acceptance, and tolerance, and yet it did none of this in the way it treated Ms. Hale,” the petition, started by Jackson Garrity, reads. “That is why we all have to stand up together and let it be known that this decision is unacceptable. If we do not fight this issue now, it will happen again, and that is not something we can allow.”