Gillette lawmaker accuses LGBTQ advocacy group of 'exploiting' students to 'advance agenda'

A Wyoming state legislator accused LGBTQ advocacy group Wyoming Equality of “exploiting children” in order to “further an agenda” in the wake of two student-related incidents involving homophobia over the past several months — a narrative Wyoming Equality disputes.

In a Facebook comment on an article posted on the page of a Cheyenne radio station on Sunday, Rep. Scott Clem, R-Gillette, called the group’s efforts to have the principal of a Cheyenne junior high school investigated “a ploy to take the heat off of Wyoming Equality for using children to advance their agenda,” adding that the group repeatedly “uses underage children and throws them to the media wolves to make a political statement.”

Wyoming Equality had called for the investigation after posters were found at McCormick Junior High containing phrases such as “it’s great to be straight it’s not OK to be gay” and “black lives only matter because if it weren’t for them who would pick our cotton.”

Clem then proceeded to call out the organization’s director and fellow state lawmaker Rep. Sara Burlingame, D-Cheyenne, saying she did not offer the principal of the school a chance to deal with the issue privately.

Read more: https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/gillette-lawmaker-accuses-lgbtq-advocacy-group-of-exploiting-students-to/article_537a193a-97c5-588e-9e40-968b300b7078.html