Christe Yared, Where Are the Civil Rights for Gay and Lbian Teachers?, Human Rights, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Summer 1997), pp. 22-24
Contents:
- GAY TEACHER: GERRY CRANE’S STORY
- LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS BYRON CENTER, MI
- LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS BYRON CENTER, MI
GAY TEACHER: GERRY CRANE’S STORY
By Carol Tanis When the ongog story of gay mic teacher Gerry Crane was the media back 1995, had a chillg effect on gays and lbians * byron center gay teacher *
Twenty-five years ago, Byron Center teacher Gerry Crane beme the foc of anti-gay sentiments and ultimately driven out of his job after was disvered he was gay. Somehow, someone got the nam of the stunts his class and sent them a packet of flammatory and false rmatn, as well as a vio of a gay pri para.
The school board held four meetgs durg which people ma false claims about gay people. “They said that simply beg homosexual ma you an improper role mol for stunts, ” Yared said.
“All he ever wanted to do was teach, not bee a gay activist. When the ongog story of gay mic teacher Gerry Crane was the media back 1995, had a chillg effect on gays and lbians Wt Michigan. Nearly two s later, many Michigan school districts and beyond, gay teachers rema at risk, which is largely why a Grand Rapids attorney is wrg a book about Gerry Crane tled, “Gay Teacher, A Story About Love, Hate & Lsons Yet to be Learned.
LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS BYRON CENTER, MI
School board meetgs were held that fall and the board issued a pronouncement that beg both gay and a teacher were not patible. In addn, notic about Crane beg a gay teacher the school district were put on r wdshields parked outsi Byron Center church parkg lots on Sunday.
The vio clud scen of men dancg at a gay pri event.
LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG THERAPISTS BYRON CENTER, MI
“The film and book highlighted the extreme; the book highlighted extreme pictur, false rmatn and myths about gay people. It basilly said, ‘This is what gay people are all about and you don’t want gay people around your kids, '” said Yared. And of urse some of those stunts were also gay and stgglg wh their own sexualy.
It also had a huge impact on other gay teachers. ” Gay marriage has eclipsed employment and hog discrimatn, which many LGBT dividuals still enunter. We’d have to say, ‘We regnize you died bee of discrimatn, ’ and here we are almost two s later and teachers are still losg their jobs jt for beg gay or lbian or transgenr.
Most stat and our untry do not have employment protectns for gay people, and our feral ernment has not passed a discrimatn law this regard. In the wake of Crane’s ath, several posive thgs have occurred Wt Michigan, cludg the formatn of a lol chapter of GLSEN: Gay, Lbian, Straight Edutn Network and a mic scholarship tablished Crane’s memory. Where Are the Civil Rights for Gay and Lbian Teachers?