In Brief

Staff Reports

NJ Teacher Who Posted Anti-Gay Facebook Rants Asks To Retire Vs. Facing Litigation

UNION TOWNSHIP, NJ -- The Union Township High School special education teacher who posted anti-gay sentiments on her personal Facebook page asked a state Administrative Law Judge hearing her case to allow her to retire rather than face disciplinary tenure charges.

"If I can retire then there is no need for me to go through this unpleasant experience," Jenye "Viki" Knox, 50, wrote in court documents. Knox added "Although I continue to maintain that I have done nothing that warrants me being disciplined ... the thought of going through a tenure trial causes a great deal of angst. 

Unfortunately for all concerned, this matter has already received great notoriety in the local community. Avoiding a hearing will allow the local community to start the healing process sooner."

Her personal Facebook page posting ignited a firestorm of controversy last Fall when Knox wrote that homosexuality is a "perverted spirit" and "unnatural immoral behavior." She also was critical of LGBT History Month, and described homosexuality as a “sin” that “breeds like cancer.” She also criticized other teachers on Facebook for putting up a "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Transgender" bulletin board in the high school and for proposing a school gay-straight alliance, according to the charges.

The ensuing outcry from parents, other staff and faculty members along with community leaders forced the administration of the school district to charge Knox with unbecoming conduct.

The tenure charge case was to begin Tuesday before a state Administrative Law Judge, but Knox filed a motion earlier this month asking that it be delayed while she seeks a disability pension due to both a back injury and "psychological grounds." She did not elaborate. A judge Wednesday agreed to list the case as inactive for three months. 

Knox earned $72,270 in 2011, and has taught for more than 20 years, according to state records. She was suspended without pay. She was initially suspended without pay for 120 days. Under the state tenure law, Knox was able to begin drawing her salary again a few weeks ago. But since the case has been put on the inactive list, she will no longer be paid. 

"Although I continue to maintain that I have done nothing that warrants me being disciplined ... the thought of going through a tenure trial causes a great deal of angst," Knox wrote. "Unfortunately for all concerned, this matter has already received great notoriety in the local community. Avoiding a hearing will allow the local community to start the healing process sooner." 

William Quinn, a spokesman for the state Treasury Department said Knox can apply for an ordinary or an accidental disability pension. Accidental disability pensions, which are related to an on-the-job injuries, pay a higher percentage of an employee’s salary. 

But Quinn said the tenure charges must still be dealt with, either through the disciplinary process or through a settlement with the district before a final decision on the disability application is made. 

"Filing a disability application will not allow someone to short-circuit the disciplinary process," Quinn said. "It’s the Division of Pensions and Benefits’ practice not to make a final decision on retirement applications until there has been a resolution of the disciplinary process." ~The New Jersey Star-Ledger

Tenure hearings can take years to resolve and cost school districts hundreds of thousands of dollars.

International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia Marked Around The Globe

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND -- Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates observed the International Day Against Homophobia And Transphobia (or IDAHO) in more than 95 countries around the world today. IDAHO is commemorated each year on May 17 to mark the anniversary of the World Health Organisation’s decision to decategorise homosexuality as a mental disorder.

In a statement released today in New York by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the ambassador said;

"All people must celebrate human diversity and rededicate ourselves to a basic but essential truth—that human rights are universal and must be protected," adding; "To our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender friends and relatives around the world: the United States stands with you in your struggle against discrimination. We will continue to do everything we can, in every arena possible, to promote communities and societies in which all people can live safely and love without fear."

British Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone speaking in London remarked; 

“Today is an opportunity to celebrate how much progress has been made in changing attitudes towards LGBT people.

In the UK, we are continuing to remove barriers and tackle prejudice – by toughening hate crime laws, campaigning to eradicate homophobia and transphobia in sport, supporting action against bullying in schools, and through our current consultation on how to implement equal civil marriage.

However, today it is also important to reflect on the challenges we still face, at home and abroad. We are continuing to drive change across government through our LGBT action plan as well as pushing for more action from partners overseas.”

In Serbia, a nation not known for a particularly tolerant view of LGBT lifestyles,  Equality Protection Commissioner Nevena Petrušić said; 

"We need to develop awareness that everybody in Serbia must enjoy the same rights and feel safe. This is a road to a tolerant and democratic society in which everybody will be able to say that they enjoy the same rights as all other citizens."

Today's commemorations were marred by violence in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, where fighting broke out as protesters attacked marchers, tearing up placards, and police made several arrests in the capital of Tbilisi, according to the BBC.

British Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Jeremy Browne and International Development Minister Stephen O’Brien released a statement that read in part; 

“It is sadly the case that in many countries Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people continue to suffer brutal violence and discrimination. These people are not making a political statement, or asking for special treatment, they just want to be free to be who they are and to love who they choose.

These simple demands are not Western impositions but universal human rights we should all be able to take for granted. Yet in over 70 countries consensual same-sex relations continue to be criminalised. In some, sexual relations between consenting adults are a crime punishable by the death penalty. We strongly oppose any criminalisation of same-sex relations.”

Last year, U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had issued a global plea for better understanding and global cooperation to end the violence against LGBTQ people.
In every part of the world, men and women are persecuted and attacked because of who they are or whom they love. Homophobia, transphobia and the brutal hostility associated with them are often rooted in a lack of understanding of what it actually means to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). So to combat this terrible scourge and break the cycle of fear and violence, we must work together to improve education and support those who stand up against laws that criminalize love and promote hate. As we mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia this May 17, let us resolve to redouble our efforts.
For more information on the events taking place around the world to mark IDAHO, visit the dayagainsthomophobia.org website.