Cleveland’s lawyer, Philip Villaume, told the paper that statements said in the classroom were “exaggerated or misconstrued” and that “she didn’t engage in any harassing or discriminatory conduct.”

Villaume said that Merritt was retaliating against Cleveland because she reported him for saying he planned to bring a gun to school.

“That is totally a lie,” Jodi Merritt, Alex’s mother, told the Pioneer Press. “The whole idea of that is just crazy. If someone brought a gun to school, don’t you think that would be all over the paper?”

The school district said it could not confirm Villaume’s claim that Cleveland reported Merritt for planning to bring a gun to school.

In a letter in support of Filson, six former students told the Pioneer Press he didn’t harass Merritt. And Filson himself denied the allegations saying that the Minnesota Department of Human Rights never questioned him in regard to the investigation.

“The Department of Human Rights never spoke to me or the other teacher, or the other students in the classes,” Filson told the Pioneer Press. “In 28 years in law enforcement, I don’t think I ever closed an investigation without at least attempting to talk to the accused.”

The department instead used reports from the district’s own investigation of the allegations to reach their conclusion.

Last November, the group cut 200 workers when donations failed to come in and after spending $500,000 in efforts to repeal gay marriage in California. In August, Focus on the Family sold its “ex-gay” program to shore up funds.

The latest round of layoffs shutters the organization’s in-house advertising department, which will now be farmed to an outside agency.

Photo: Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent

Two teachers accusing of coordinated harassment of a student have been put on leave by the Anoka-Hennepin School District, according to the Star Tribune. The school district has come under heavy criticism for what community members see as lax disciplinary action against Diane Cleveland and Walter Filson, who are accused of repeatedly harassing one of their students because they thought he was gay.

Peter Gokey, a teacher in the district currently on hiatus while going back to school, wanted quicker action. “While it’s nice that some discipline is being taken, albeit late, it’s too bad that the reaction seems to only come as a reaction to public pressure,” he told the Minnesota Independent on Tuesday night. “I would have rather the district had done it more immediate to when the offense happened — and because it was the right thing to do.”

Filson and Cleveland reportedly directed anti-gay and derogatory statements toward their student, Alex Merritt, who is not gay. Following an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which found merit with Merritt’s case, the district agreed to a settlement of $25,000.

Anoka-Hennepin administrators said they can’t discuss whether the teachers were on paid leave, but the news came as a relief to about a dozen protesters at an open house last night at the Secondary Technical Education Program (STEP), where the pair taught. Those protesters said they wanted to ensure no other students faced the same harassment.

Protest organizer Adam Fairbanks said he thought pressure on the district worked.

“I would like to think it did,” he said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they have been put on leave because the Minnesota board of teachers is investigating and they need to be [on leave] until that investigation is complete.”

Fairbanks said a number of concerned school district members have contacted the teacher’s board to investigate “conduct unbecoming a teacher.”

“I would be very surprised if they don’t remove their licenses, which would mean they would lose their jobs,” he added.

(Lavverrue, Flickr)

In the five months since the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that gay and lesbian couples could legally marry in that state, 676 same-sex couples have married there as of July 27, according to a report by the Des Moines Register. Of those, 36 couples were from Minnesota.

On Sunday, that number jumped by nine as a busload of Minnesotans left St. Paul for ceremonies in the Hawkeye State. Among them were Judith Weir, 73, and Olly Staneslow, 75, who were married at the First Unitarian Church in Des Moines.

“To actually be legally married is a dream come true,” Weir told the Register. “It’s like maybe we can stop being treated as second-class citizens. You can’t choose who you fall in love with.”

Just under half of all same-sex marriages in Iowa have involved out-of-state residents: 57 from Illinois, 38 from Nebraska, 37 from Missouri and 36 from Minnesota.

But there are some outside groups bent on stopping gay marriage in Iowa. The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) has begun a campaign in Iowa to bring a constitutional amendment before the voters and to help elect anti-same-sex marriage legislators. NOM is the same group that pushed for California’s Prop 8, which ended same-sex marriage in that state.

NOM came under fire last week when it was revealed that Iowa authorities were investigating the group for violations of campaign contribution disclosures. The group failed to file as a political action committee, prompting Iowa’s Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board to send a letter (pdf) to the group which stated, “The independent expenditure process in Iowa is not a vehicle to shield political contributions.”

The How to Take Back America conference, to be held in St. Louis Sept. 26, will tackle topics like “How to recognize living under Nazis & Communists” and “How to counter the homosexual movement.” And one of its featured speakers will be Minnesota’s own Rep. Michele Bachmann.

So how do you “take back America?” The workshops at the conference give some hints, offering topics like ”How to stop the killings: pro-life solutions,” “How to defend America vs. missile attack, ” and a made-for-Bachmann event, “How to deal with vote fraud, the Census and ACORN.”

The conference is hosted by some heavy hitters in the religious right and will include speeches from Mike Huckabee and Reps. Tom Price and Steve King. Organizations collaborating on the event include anti-gay groups like the American Family Association and Eagle Forum, the late Jerry Falwell’s Liberty Counsel, the Home School Legal Defense Association and right-wing media outlet WorldNetDaily.

Hat tip: Right Wing Watch

Photo: Andy Birkey, Minnesota Independent

Students, teachers and concerned residents of the Anoka-Hennepin School District crowded into the district’s board meeting on Monday evening to vent their concerns after learning that the district paid out $25,000 to a student who says he was continually harassed by two district teachers because they thought he was gay.

While the citizens voiced their frustration with the district, most gave concrete solutions for how the district could improve upon its policies and save face with the community on the issue of anti-gay harassment.

Alex Merritt says he endured taunting and harassment at the hands of his two teachers, Diane Cleveland and Walter Filson, during the 2007 school year, according to a complaint filed with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. The school acknowledged it disciplined the teachers only minimally, stating that laws governing tenure prevent them from doing more. Residents of the district say it’s not enough.

Peter Gokey, who teaches at a school in the district, said last night, “About this being an isolated incident… that isn’t the case.”

Gokey told stories about students and staff who have found the climate in the district hostile to gay staff and students. “It’s come a long way, but there’s still more work to be done, and what we can do is take a stand against harassment,” he said.

“I do know that Outfront Minnesota [a LGBT advocacy group] has offered training,” he said, urging the board to program in-service workshops on harassment. “It’s a chance to do some actual training on this issue. This is a chance to say let’s move forward.”

Lucas Stiles, a student at Blaine High School, said he understands that teachers might disagree about issues like same-sex marriage and homosexuality, but that can’t creep into the classroom.

“They have the right to their own opinion. They are allowed to not like who someone is sexually attracted to,” he said. “But it is not their right to make comments about it, to joke about it or tell other students that they are against it.”

Stiles said he suggested that perhaps the offending teachers sit in on some of the district’s Gay-Straight Alliance meetings to get to know some of the students who are affected by harassment.

“These students, whether they are gay or not, deserve protection,” said Minneapolis’ Steven Brusewitz, a former district employee and past president of the school employees’ association. “I find this really disturbing. I really have a hard time seeing how you can continue the employment of these individuals.”

Katrina Plotz, a Minneapolis resident, expressed her shocked by the allegations. “Any teacher who deliberately inflicts emotional harm on a student has no place in the classroom,” she said. “The fact that these teachers are still employed is shameful.”

A mother from Elk River gave emotional testimony about raising a gay son in the district. It wasn’t until he came out in college that he began to tell her about the painful harassment he endured as a teenager.

“Don’t get me wrong, he had a wonderful education,” she said. “But it breaks my heart as a parent to hear these things I am continually learning.

“I truly think we cannot effect change if we maintain that this is isolated incident,” she told the board. “I think we shut our eyes to the possibility of a better future if we maintain that this is an isolated incident.”

Those in attendance said they will continue to work with the district to ensure that incidents like the one experienced by Merritt will not happen again.

(Disclosure: I am a member, along with 1,200 other Minnesotans, of a Facebook group that helped coordinate Monday’s meeting with the school board.)

Photo: Dierdre Conde, Flickr

Concerned residents say they will demonstrate at the board meeting of the Anoka-Hennepin School District on Monday evening following news reports that two teachers in the district conspired to harass a student they thought was gay. The district agreed to pay $25,000 to settle a human rights complaint filed by the student’s parent.

Many Twin Cities residents want to know why the teachers were not disciplined and why they continue to teach.

“This school district has failed to provide the ’safe and respectful learning environment’ described in its vision statement,” said Minneapolis resident Katrina Plotz in a statement Monday. “And now they’re making excuses for behavior that should never be tolerated by students, let alone teachers, who are entrusted to provide for the safety and well-being of students while at school.”

The demonstration is being organized by members of several Facebook groups that cropped up after the news broke (disclosure: I’ve been involved with one such group, but haven’t planned any demonstrations).

The group says it will bring its concerns to the open comment portion of the board meeting and will file complaints with the teachers’ union and the Minnesota Board of Teaching.

The school district says that because of state laws governing the employment and termination of teachers, it decided not to proceed with removing the teachers from their positions. D.J. Tice at the Star Tribune this weekend outlined the difficulties in removing teachers.

The Strib also called for the teachers’ dismissal last week. “Why should they ever be allowed again to teach?” asked the paper’s editorial board.

“I was disgusted that this person felt the need to go out of their way to do this,” he said.

Police say they have a suspect in mind, and that the case could be turned over for a hate crime investigation.

According to Sveback, the incident is unusual in the friendly community of Afton. “It has always seemed to be a great place to live, this is the first time I have encountered this in Afton.”

Sveback says it was important to make sure people are aware of such incidents. “I am in the process of starting up a TV show that is going to air in the fall, so I was not sure if I should bring this to light or not,” he said. “I decided that I needed to stand up about it and risk losing the show instead of this getting swept under a rug.”

He continued, “I appreciate anyone that is willing to speak up about making sure everyone is treated in a humane way.”

“Right now we’re facing a serious budget shortfall that threatens our ability to reach out to parents, families and married couples who count on our help,” said Jim Daly, Focus’ CEO in a letter to 800,000 members. “Income is down nearly $6 million from what we expected and planned for this year. I want to assure you that we’re committed to good stewardship AND living within our means, just as so many families are today.”

In November, Focus laid off nearly 20 percent of its workforce, or 200 employees, due to declining donations from individuals and foundations.

Focus is selling “Love Won Out” to Exodus International, an ex-gay ministry.

Photo: iStockphoto

The world’s largest professional association for psychologists released a report last week criticizing attempts to turn gay people straight. The American Psychological Association (APA) found that such efforts — variously called reparative therapies, sexual orientation change plans or “ex-gay” movements — typically demonize the “homosexual lifestyle” and use religious programming to “change” a person’s sexual orientation. In Minnesota, there are at least three such organizations working to alter people’s sexual orientation.

The APA’s report, “Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation,” (pdf) found that change therapies, both religious and secular, failed to change clients’ sexual orientation — and in some cases caused further harm. It also concluded that religion is a strong factor in individuals’ difficulty with being gay or lesbian and that therapists should work to help people reconcile their sexual orientation and religion.

“Scientifically rigorous older studies in this area found that sexual orientation was unlikely to change due to efforts designed for this purpose,” said Judith M. Glassgold, PsyD, chair of the task force that released the report, in a statement. “Contrary to the claims of [sexual orientation change effort] practitioners and advocates, recent research studies do not provide evidence of sexual orientation change as the research methods are inadequate to determine the effectiveness of these interventions.”

Glassgold acknowledged in an interview with the Associated Press that religion can be a strong motivator for gays and lesbians to want to change their sexual orientation.

“There’s no evidence to say that change therapies work, but these vulnerable people are tempted to try them, and when they don’t work, they feel doubly terrified,” Glassgold said. “You should be honest with people and say, ‘This is not likely to change your sexual orientation, but we can help explore what options you have.’”

One ministry in Minneapolis which works with “ex-gays” acknowledges that some people cannot change — even if they want to. Dave Rasmussen, co-director of Simon Ministries, says their operation doesn’t do change therapy but merely exists to provide support for “married men who have unwanted same-sex attractions.” His wife runs a similar group for women.

“I don’t feel compelled to tell these men they need to change, and I am honest with them and say up front that some of their marriages may end in divorce and some will go into the lifestyle.”

“Our group time is for encouragement, understanding, prayer and to draw closer to God. Through intimacy with Him sometimes change does happen. I have seen it,” he said. “Sometimes it does not.”

Two other religiously affiliated “ex-gay” programs, Outpost Ministries in Robbinsdale and UpStream Ministries in St. Cloud, did not respond to a request for comment.

The former has an interesting past. Jeffrey Ford, Outpost Ministries’ director for most of the 1980s, has since renounced change therapy and spoken out about the harms associated with it. A therapist living in Minneapolis with his partner Kent, he recounts his struggles as Outpost’s director:

Even as a married man and director of an ex-gay ministry, I privately struggled with temptations. Unless you’ve been there, it is hard to explain how you can call yourself ex-gay and still have strong homosexual feelings. The denial is supported and encouraged by all those around you. You are taught that to be “tempted” has nothing to do with orientation. You take on Christ’s identity and can honestly say that, in Christ, I am whole and complete and heterosexual.

It became clear to me that I was living and perpetrating a lie. I knew that, for me, the road less traveled involved accepting that I was not a former homosexual and that I needed to resign my position with OUTPOST.

The APA report concluded that such therapies as those practiced by Outpost can be dangerous.

“[S]tudies … indicate that attempts to change sexual orientation may cause or exacerbate distress and poor mental health in some individuals, including depression and suicidal thoughts.”

Glassgold said that it is important that clients know that.

“[W]e recommend that psychologists be completely honest about the likelihood of sexual orientation change, and that they help clients explore their assumptions and goals with respect to both religion and sexuality.”