A New Jersey mayor is calling for an investigation after a group of public school teachers were caught making homophobic comments in a chat shared during a Zoom class.
In a group chat on Nov. 25, teachers from Dumont High School in Dumont, N.J., made disparaging comments about one of their co-workers.
“Why is that kid with the gay gym teacher?” one asked, according to a screenshot of the chat that was captured by a student and shared with NJ Advance Media.
“Is that her adopted kid? Who is gonna be all fucked up growing up watching 2 chicks kissing and calling them both mom,” said another.
Dumont Mayor Andrew LaBruno condemned the disparaging comments, saying in a Facebook post that the comments were ‘disturbing and extremely appalling” and calling on Superintendent Emanuele Triggiano to investigate the matter.
LaBruno said in the post that after speaking to Triggiano, the superintendent assured him that the incident “is being taken seriously and will be thoroughly investigated.”
“These homophobic comments do not reflect our community’s values, nor do they represent our beliefs in the Borough of Dumont,” LaBruno said in the post. “We are an inclusive and welcoming community. We were the first mayor and Council to raise the Pride flag in support of our neighbors in the LGBTQ community.
“While there is still much work to be done fighting against inequalities and standing up for human rights, our educators mold our children’s minds, and these comments have no place in our education system,” he added. “Dumont is one big family, and together we must ensure that all of our neighbors know that hate has no home here.”
The incident has sparked outrage among some in the community, who began circulating a Change.org petition calling for the teachers involved in the group chat to be fired. The petition has garnered more than 21,000 signatures as of publication time.
“This behavior is unacceptable and should not be tolerated by the school district or its employees, and should result in their forced resignations immediately,” the petition reads.
A Serbian Orthodox bishop has criticized a large-scale LGBTQ event scheduled to be held in Belgrade next month, making comments that appeared to condone violence against participants.
Nikanor Bogunovic, the prelate of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the bishop of Banat, a diocese in northeastern Serbia, vowed to "curse" all those who attended the EuroPride, a six-day long festival taking place from Sept. 12-18.
"I will curse all those who organize and participate in such a thing," Bogunovic said in a statement on August 11, according to the Orthodox Times. "I can do so much. If I had a gun, I would use it, I would use this power if I had it, but I don’t have it."
Several thousand people took part in a march in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday that had been organized to call for the government-enforced shuttering of all LGBTQ organizations and a ban on any public expressions of LGBTQ identity or depictions of same-sex relationships in media.
The marchers, including representatives or organizations with close ties to the country's authoritarian leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, demanded that all LGBTQ associations or organizations in the country be closed down.
Many of the demonstrators, claiming the mantle of "family values," included women in hijabs holding signs reading: "Protect your family and your generation," "Say no to society without gender," and "Father + Mother + Baby = Family."
A Texas school district has adopted a slew of policies aimed at discouraging transgender youth from identifying openly as trans, and barring school administrators from acknowledging any gender identity other than what matches their assigned sex at birth.
On August 22, the school board of the Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District (GCISD) passed a number of policies for the upcoming 2022-2023 school year on a string of narrow 4-3 votes, reports the Texas Observer.
The Observer notes that the conservative majority on the board received significant funding from conservative political action committees that were established to support candidates seeking to advance a right-wing political agenda -- including hostility to LGBTQ policies.
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!
A New Jersey mayor is calling for an investigation after a group of public school teachers were caught making homophobic comments in a chat shared during a Zoom class.
In a group chat on Nov. 25, teachers from Dumont High School in Dumont, N.J., made disparaging comments about one of their co-workers.
“Why is that kid with the gay gym teacher?” one asked, according to a screenshot of the chat that was captured by a student and shared with NJ Advance Media.
“Is that her adopted kid? Who is gonna be all fucked up growing up watching 2 chicks kissing and calling them both mom,” said another.
Dumont Mayor Andrew LaBruno condemned the disparaging comments, saying in a Facebook post that the comments were ‘disturbing and extremely appalling” and calling on Superintendent Emanuele Triggiano to investigate the matter.
LaBruno said in the post that after speaking to Triggiano, the superintendent assured him that the incident “is being taken seriously and will be thoroughly investigated.”
See also: Missouri teacher attacks marriage equality, students demand action
“These homophobic comments do not reflect our community’s values, nor do they represent our beliefs in the Borough of Dumont,” LaBruno said in the post. “We are an inclusive and welcoming community. We were the first mayor and Council to raise the Pride flag in support of our neighbors in the LGBTQ community.
“While there is still much work to be done fighting against inequalities and standing up for human rights, our educators mold our children’s minds, and these comments have no place in our education system,” he added. “Dumont is one big family, and together we must ensure that all of our neighbors know that hate has no home here.”
The incident has sparked outrage among some in the community, who began circulating a Change.org petition calling for the teachers involved in the group chat to be fired. The petition has garnered more than 21,000 signatures as of publication time.
“This behavior is unacceptable and should not be tolerated by the school district or its employees, and should result in their forced resignations immediately,” the petition reads.
Read more:
John Cleese comes under fire for anti-transgender tweets
Gay people are having more sex during COVID, despite transmission risk
Biden taps lesbian campaign advisor Karine Jean-Pierre as deputy press secretary
Read Next