Karen Pence Is Teaching at a School That Classifies Homosexual 'Activity' as Moral Misconduct

But then again, it's not like this is a surprise from Mother or the Pence Family.

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Karen Pence, or as I prefer to call her, mother!, has decided to pick up a side gig on top of her Second Lady duties. As first reported by HuffPost, the job is one she’s done before—part-time art teacher at a private Christian school called Immanuel Christian School in Northern Virginia. The school is one that she has taught art at before: for 12 years actually. Their daughter Charlotte also attended the school.

But of course, it can't be that simple. The school, situated in one of many states that have no legislation regarding LGBT discrimination in the work place, forbids those who participate in homosexual activity of any kind from attending. It's worth noting that while 26 states from Arizona to Florida have no protections, this is Virginia, which sits in DC's backdoor, where both DC and Maryland do have protections. It's not particularly surprising that she retreated to the one state that doesn't. And before anyone sets their Palm Bibles on fire for torch fuel for the First Amendment rally, it really has nothing to do with that. Karen Pence is a public servant who represents the institution that represents America, and thus her side-jobs are an extension of that.


When HuffPost reached out for comment, the Second Lady's spokeswoman, Kara Brooks, said, "It’s absurd that her decision to teach art to children at a Christian school, and the school’s religious beliefs, are under attack." Okay, let's take a breath Kara. I don't think anyone is attacking religious beliefs here. I think they're attacking the decision to be a bigot on the clock. Big difference.

Let’s get one thing straight (pun unintended, but welcomed): mother!’s beliefs are hers to have, not do I oppose her right to have them. Good for her. I’m sure she’ll have the opportunity to rectify her decisions before God one day, and I, for one, hope they serve popcorn and cabernet sauvignon in heaven when they do. But the problem with mother!’s extracurricular activities as Second Lady is that she has stepped before the world, like it or not, as a prime representative of this country. By doing that and taking this job, you are openly stating that your beliefs trump (pun intended this time) the moral fiber of being a representative of that Constitution and what it means to be created equally. It is an unsurprising turn of having another member of the Trump administration place personal interest before country, but this time it’s just a sweetened pot considering how rife the Pence family is on their track record with the LGBT community.

In Mike Pence's tenure as Indiana governor, he took a number of shots against the LGBT community. It was under his watch that he only begrudgingly passed a needle exchange program when an HIV epidemic broke out in his state. He signed the "religious objections bill" into effect, which is worded in a way that provides a loophole to discriminate against LGBT people. He also signaled that "societal collapse" would follow the deterioration of traditional marriage. In short, the Pences are real peaches on this topic.

Full disclosure: I’m a Christian and also a homosexual. I get it. In some weird, twisted way, I honestly do. Stand at that pulpit and preach the Good Word. I’ve been on the other end of that Good Word and also can be big enough to understand that you have the right, for some reason, to spew that vitriol in the name of religious morality. All of that is to say that while I think that using religion as a weapon or defense mechanism is perhaps the greatest sin, I understand the fundamental right to have it. But even so—it's lost on a lot of people, but this isn't a Christian country. It's the privilege of being an American that allows us to practice whatever religion we place our faith in.

And tossing whether it's right or wrong aside, preaching the nationalistic rhetoric that has fueled this administration should come with the burden of touting the goodness and worthiness of all Americans (of course, this administration doesn't feel that way, but it should). So while mother! fulfills her artistic duties at Immanuel Christian School, influencing the potential next Michael Bay, she's doing so while compromising the ideals of American equality. There's a good number of schools in the DMV area, and yet, this is the one that calls upon her heart. And since we’re referencing the Bible as a litmus test for our decisions, check out Romans 13:10—"Love does no wrong to its neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

But that’s probably hard to parse when you’re talking out both sides of your mouth.

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