Lutheran School Cancels Valedictorian's Speech Because He Planned To Come Out Gay
A gay student, Nat Werth, at Sheboygan Lutheran High School in Sheboygan, WI had his valedictorian speech nixed because the draft contained references to him coming to terms with his "being gay" and that he believed that it was not a sin.
After the Lutheran school edited the draft to remove the references to homosexuality, the student claims that they wouldn't allow him to proceed with the speech because they didn't trust him not to promote homosexuality -- which, by the way, they have the right to do.
According to Sheboygan Press,
Werth said the school's administration, after reading a draft of his speech, removed references about his struggles as a gay student and ones that critiqued biblical scriptures critical of homosexuality as "outdated, mistranslated, or misinterpreted in their respectively Biblical, cultural and historical contexts."
Werth said he told the administrators he would work with them to take the parts out they didn't like and to make the speech something on which they could all agree. But they ultimately told him he wouldn't speak at graduation.
Instead, the class salutatorian delivered an address during the commencement ceremony.
Some homosexual activist groups are up in arms about it, claiming "the handbook does not mention homosexuality or LGBTQ people specifically, and the school does not have any LGBTQ clubs like a gay-straight alliance."
However, it is good on this school to stand on its biblical convictions. If the Bible is standard of truth, morality, and conviction, a "handbook" is not needed to determine whether or not homosexuality is acceptable or not.