A gay teacher was fired in Ohio after explaining his Pride bracelet to students, and a father dies by suicide after murdering his trans daughter in Georgia.
Gay Teacher Fired After Explaining His Pride Bracelet to Students
Jay Bowman has been a teacher for over 30 years. While substituting in a classroom at Huntington High School, students approached him and asked about his bracelet. It was a rainbow and bore the name of a local advocacy group: First Capital Pride.
“When approached by students who expressed a certain point of view, I happily slid the band off my arm, offered it to the student, and explained that First Capital Pride offered support groups for teens who may be struggling, are suicidal, are ostracized, and need support,” Bowman told the Guardian.
Now he’s been fired.
The school district sent out a written statement explaining Bowman broke district policy which prevents “staff from discussing with students on certain subjects, including political, religious and personal beliefs.”
While Ohio doesn’t have any anti-discrimination law for LGBT individuals, the federal government does.
The U.S. Department of Education said they’ll be reviewing the school district’s actions. Depending on the results of the investigation, the district could lose its federal funding. It’s unclear how much funding they’d lose, but it could be millions.
Father Shoots Trans Daughter Then Dies by Suicide
Kathryn Newhouse. Photo via Facebook.
Howard Newhouse shot his 19-year-old transgender daughter who struggled with her mental health, Kathryn Newhouse. He then shot himself. Neither survived.
According to 11 Alive, Kathryn’s mother was at home at the time of the shooting but wasn’t injured. The family lived in Cherokee County, Georgia.
It’s not been reported yet what led to the incident, but this isn’t the first time violence broke out in the home. Both Howard and Kathryn were arrested in 2019 after, according to the arrest report, Howard hurt his daughter "holding her down on a bed by her throat."
Neither of the two were prosecuted.
Some news outlets have reported this alongside the fact Kathryn had been arrested twice for reported violence against her father. In one instance she allegedly hit a cup from his hand which scratched his face.
The PGH Lesbian Correspondance was appalled by the comparison and wrote, “Equating a grown man holding a teenage girl on her bed by her throat with a teenage girl knocking a glass out of his hand as comparable examples of domestic violence is appalling.”
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