ISSUES: Anti-Bully Campaigns a Front for Gay Agenda?

It’s tough to come up with anything bad to say about anti-bullying programs … unless you’re a Focus on the Family rep. Candi Cushman, education expert for the Christian organization, says that all too often anti-bullying initiatives are used to push “the gay agenda,” as she calls it on her website. Gay advocacy groups use “anti-bullying rhetoric to introduce their viewpoints, while the viewpoint of Christian students and parents are increasingly belittled,” she tells the Denver Post.

In Cushman’s view, these groups use the guise of safety to introduce curriculum, books, and policies that push the idea that homosexuality is normal, but Christians’ opposing viewpoints are not allowed in schools. While Focus on the Family agrees with bullying prevention, “this issue is being hijacked by activists,” she says. “They shouldn't be politicizing or sexualizing the issue.” On the other hand, one advocate points out that gay students are three times more likely to be victims of bullying.