A parent's group opposing a school program used a picture from The Onion on a pamphlet they sent out, supposedly without realizing it was a joke. A school board trustee is now demanding an apology.
The picture was copied from the Onion, a satirical newspaper from the United States. The headline of the 1998 story says, " '98 homosexual drive nearing goal."
The story, written out of San Francisco, goes on to say children are being successfully recruited into homosexuality because of the "gay lobby's infiltration of America's public schools."
Marilyn Ashworth of STOP said it's concerned the photo represents what will end up in this region's schools if the board goes ahead with its plan.
"We knew it was a gay paper and we hold that even as a joke, the gay community is proud of their advancements into the safe schools program in the U.S.," she said. "We don't think homosexuality in schools is a joke."
Asked whether she believed it was a real photo, Ashworth said the caption included the teacher's name, city, state and grade.
"We researched in depth and that was one of the things we found," she said, noting the group spent seven weeks accumulating research. [London Free Press]
