FORT MYERS, Fla. — A resolution for the Lee County School District to acknowledge October as LGBTQ History month led people from the community to passionately speak out at Tuesday night's board meeting.
The resolution intended to educate children about the political, social and legal contributions LGBTQ members have made to American society.
Here's the catch, hours before the meeting, the resolution was removed from the agenda. The school board decided against holding a vote to confirm October as LGBTQ History month without a clear explanation.
Still, nearly 40 people from the Southwest Florida community came out to share their opinions about the scrapped resolution.
"I don’t talk to you about what I do with my wife. I don’t need you to talk to me about what you do with your boyfriend. Talking to my kids about anything like that is just completely absurd and it's perverted," said Cory Dye, a Lee County parent.
To counter this, former Lee County School District Student and now LGBTQ advocate, AJ Ford, spoke in support of the resolution because he believes education will reduce bullying in schools.
"I was one of those children who was relentlessly bullied," says Ford, "It's my firm belief that that ignorance is only a lack of education. We are all more alike than we know and I believe that if we did have something like LGBT history month in these schools we might see less bullying."
Some parents were not for or against the resolution, they came to express their support for teaching kindness for all people in the schools.
"Teach kindness every single day. Teach kindness for white kids for black kids for straight kids for gay kids for kids in wheelchairs and cleft pallets. Whatever it is, teach kindness," says Diana Watt.
At the conclusion of the meeting, school board member Mary Fisher responded to the public comments by saying that LGBT resolution will remain off the agenda for now and will not be considered at this time.
