School officials disciplined a 14-year-old after she posted Bible verses at school

Excerpted from Cincinnati.Com.

The church told her not to let it go, and the pastor called her a hero. The congregation stood and applauded.

You might know the story by now. It made Fox News and Yahoo, dividing people across the country. 

School officials disciplined a 14-year-old Lebanon High School student in March after she posted Bible verses at school. She did so because she saw rainbow flags there, and she said she was trying to help students who were confused.

“I seen that there was people in my school that needed help, and they don’t need to be living in the confusion of wondering if they should gay, bi, lesbian, trans – anything like that," Helsinger said in a video her mom posted to Facebook. "God is the only way that they can be healed by that."  

School officials have disputed the student's version of events, without going into detail because of student privacy laws, they say. Her video has been viewed more than 121,000 times.

A few days after the video, on March 13, there were protesters at Lebanon High School. There were high-fives and signs and a bullhorn and police. As students walked to their cars in the parking lot, authorities escorted a local politician’s brother away and charged him with trespassing. 

A few days after this, a resident started raising funds for an LGBTQ-friendly club at the school because, the woman said, being different is already hard enough.  At the same time, officials are asking residents to vote for a tax hike in May. 

In a mostly conservative city in a largely conservative county, this is what religious controversy looks like. 

 …

Lawrence Bishop II is a pastor at Solid Rock Church in Warren County. You know, the one with a towering statue of Jesus outside. The one you can see from Interstate 75. The one that has sparked controversy for uncompromising views opposing gay marriage and other churches that support it.

This is where 14-year-old Gabby Helsinger goes to church.

Read the entire article here: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/04/11/ohio-schools-bible-controversy-politicians-brother-charged-after-protest/3420981002/