A Pennsylvania school district is under fire after parents objected to a local high school airing a series of videos on LGBTQ bullying during the school’s morning announcements in April.
Parents, religious leaders, and socially conservative activists objected to the airing of the videos, saying that school administrators at Emmaus High School should have allowed parents to vet the videos and determine what their children were allowed to see, reports The Morning Call. According to students who viewed them, the anti-bullying videos — which were aired as part of a project by students from the school’s Gay Straight Alliance — attempted to promote tolerance and encourage cisgender students not to mistreat or harass their LGBTQ peers.
Up for debate is whether the videos can be considered “educational material,” which would be subject to parental review, or student work, which is not, because students’ free speech rights are protected by the First Amendment. Pennsylvania law requires schools to adopt policies that ensure parents and guardians can pull their children from classes or lessons that conflict with their religious beliefs.
“I believe anything that is shown publicly should be subject to parental notification,” the Rev. Andrew Damick, a pastor at St. Paul’s Orthodox Church in Emmaus, said at a meeting of the East Penn School Board earlier this week. “We should control what our children are being shown as part of the curriculum and in school.”
Some district parents had complained at past school board meetings that former East Penn Superintendent Michael Schilder had declined to share links or copies of the videos when they requested them, but did share titles and descriptions of the videos, reports WFMZ.com.
Schilder had argued the videos were part of a student project, and not part of the official curriculum, and therefore, did not require parental approval in order to be aired. That decision was criticized by conservative groups, including the American Family Association and Liberty Counsel, which have accused the district of violating the law by subverting parental rights.
Michelle Blagbrough claimed that the videos were “normalizing and promoting alternative lifestyles” and were selected from YouTube and other Internet sources, not produced by the Gay Straight Alliance members themselves. As such, they should have been vetted by parents prior to being shown.
“[It’s] clear that this was planned and executed with teacher involvement,” she said. “We expect honest and open communication [from the school district].”
But Aidan Levinson, a student who vetted the videos, said that they were played during student-produced morning announcements and were not part of official class instruction. He also added that parents who remain upset over the videos could always go on the Internet and look up them up. Because the school district had provided the title, a simple search would allow the complaining adults to view the videos for themselves to see if the content was objectionable.
William Bassett, a rising senior at Emmaus High School, said that complaints about the videos were being “blown out of proportion” and were intended to spread awareness about anti-LGBTQ bullying.
“Showing videos of gay and lesbian couples getting married isn’t bullying,” Bassett said. “I agree that pushing the homosexual agenda shouldn’t be allowed. These videos didn’t promote that.”
Philz Coffee is facing backlash after directing its shops to remove Pride flags and related decor from in-store displays.
A petition launched on Change.org by individuals claiming to be Philz baristas alleges the coffee chain ordered Pride flags removed from nearly 60 stores across California and Illinois, saying the directive has "left many team members and customers feeling confounded and unsupported."
"The pride flags within the stores hold deep meaning and value to both staff and visitors, symbolizing that these locations are safe and welcoming spaces for all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity," the petition states. "Removing these flags risks alienating a core group of team members and loyal customers who see Philz not just as a coffee shop, but as a place where they are embraced and celebrated for who they are."
A Christian father who appeared on a court TV show sued his 18-year-old son for $6,000, claiming he was owed reimbursement after the teen failed to complete a summer conversion therapy program his parents had enrolled him in.
The dispute played out on a recently recirculated episode of Equal Justice with Judge Eboni K. Williams, which debuted in 2023. It’s unclear when the episode originally aired, but it was uploaded to YouTube on March 26, 2026.
As noted by LGBTQ Nation, courtroom television shows are not actual courts and don’t have to follow the same rules. Equal Justice bills itself as a "small claims court arbitration" show, meaning a neutral third party -- in this case, Williams -- hears both sides of a dispute and issues a decision that may be binding if the parties agree in advance to accept it. Arbitration is not the same as civil litigation.
When Metro Weekly first spoke with Milo Miles, late last year, the Canadian adult performer was already well aware that crossing the border into the United States could be a risky proposition.
"In Canada, we have pre-clearance," Miles said, referring to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance operation at Toronto Pearson Airport, whereby passengers heading to the U.S. are screened in Canada before boarding their flights, rather than when they land stateside. "They take their job a little too seriously. I have two phones, a personal one and a business one. The personal one usually gets cleared before I cross the border. No Trump memes, for example. Sex work is really frowned upon, and sex work alone is probably reason enough to prevent entry. There are precautions that I take."
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.