Second Lady Karen Pence will teach art at a school that bans gay students and teachers.
Second Lady of the United States, Karen Pence, speaks at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference. Image via Wikimedia Commons.
Karen Pence has returned to teaching art at Immanuel Christian School in northern Virginia, the same job she held for years while her husband, Vice President Mike Pence, served in the House of Representatives in nearby Washington, D.C. But news outlets, starting with with HuffPost, have noticed that the school has a deeply homophobic “parent agreement” forced upon all of those seeking enrollment for their children.
The policy says that it will “refuse admission to an applicant” or “discontinue enrollment of a student” who is “participating in, supporting, or condoning sexual immorality, homosexual activity or bi-sexual activity” or “promoting such practices.”
In addition, potential employees must “sign a pledge not to engage in homosexual activity or violate the ‘unique roles of male and female.’”
The policy also enforces sexism, mandating that “a wife is commanded to submit to her husband as the church submits to Christ.” And the school questions job applicants on their views on what the school’s policy refers to as a “creation/evolution debate.”
In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson to the First Lady stated:
“Mrs. Pence has returned to the school where she previously taught for 12 years. It's absurd that her decision to teach art to children at a Christian school, and the school's religious beliefs, are under attack.”
In addition to her experience as an art teacher, Karen Pence has long advocated for art therapy, making it the center of her “Healing with the HeART” platform that highlighted the arts as treatment for mental health issues.
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