Homosexual couple didn’t want Christian viewpoint represented
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Speakers at Viroqua High School in Viroqua, Wisc., for the biannual event were to include Hmong, Jewish, Muslim, American Indian, African American, Latino, Buddhist, physically handicapped and poor people, the La Crosse Tribune reported.

The paper said, however, the event was called off late last week after the Florida-based public-interest legal group Liberty Counsel raised a potential challenge, insisting the program include the viewpoint of a former homosexual.
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The last event, in 2004, initially was canceled by the school board after 400 people signed a petition protesting the inclusion of speakers on homosexual and transgender issues. The event was reinstated in the spring, however, when elections changed the board’s membership.

This time, a fax from Liberty Counsel stated local pastor Don Greven of Bad Axe Lutheran Church and the grandfather of a senior at the high school raised concerns about no Christian, or formerly homosexual, viewpoint being included among the speakers, the Tribune reported.

Liberty Counsel argued a federal court in Michigan had ruled a similar exclusion unconstitutional.
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Gregg Attleson, a teacher on the Diversity Day planning committee, told the LaCrosse paper the intent is to introduce students to minorities and people with alternative lifestyles.
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Attleson said the homosexual couple scheduled to speak refused to be on the program alongside an “ex-gay” viewpoint, saying they would be uncomfortable.

The committee then decided it would be best to cancel the whole program.
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The Diversity Day event set at Viroqua High School for March 23 has been cancelled.

The Vernon County Broadcaster was informed of this via a letter to the editor on Friday that stated: “The Diversity Day program, set for Thursday March 23, at Viroqua High School, has been canceled due to complications arising from legal considerations. The planning committee arrived at this decision to avoid compromising the original intent of the program.”

The letter was sent by Diversity Day organizers Gregg Attleson, Renee Baker, Darlene Buhr and Ellen Byers.

Diversity Day is an event held every two years at the school. It includes speakers representing a number of different racial, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.
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Faced again with controversy over plans for a gay speaker, Viroqua High School officials have cancelled Diversity Day.

The event, held every two years since 2000 for juniors and seniors, had been set for Thursday.

Scheduled speakers included Hmong, Jewish, Muslim, American Indian, African American, Latino, Buddhist, gay, physically disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged people.

But it was called off late last week after a legal group raised a potential challenge to include a formerly gay or Christian viewpoint.
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When committee members heard some wanted the ex-gay viewpoint presented, they contacted the homosexual couple who would be speaking. Bob and Kevin Gross, who are parents of five children in the Viroqua School District. were also presenters at the 2002 Diversity Day and were set to participate again.

Kevin Gross said the pair told the committee they would participate at the event, but not if confronted by the ex-gay speaker in the same room.

“We thought it was a little ridiculous that the idea was to put us in a room where someone else would talk about being able to be ‘healed’ of being gay,” Kevin Gross said.

The committee eventually decided the best course of action was to cancel the whole event.

“Non-positive groups were not what we were going for,” said Ellen Byers, an English teacher on the committee.
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