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Private Christian school leaders receive death threats after telling parents students must identify by their biological sex and LGBTQ pupils will be asked to leave
- Callers threatened to burn the house down of administrator Barry McKeen
- McKeen said he is refusing to back down and will not rescind the policy
- Others have rallied in support of the school, he said, with one man donating $5K
- The school charges up to $6,595 per year for a senior student to attend
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Leaders of a Christian school in Florida have received death threats after saying they will only refer to students by their sex assigned at birth and pupils who are LGBTQ will be asked to leave.
Barry McKeen, administrator for Grace Christian School and community pastor, said in an email to parents sent June 6: ‘We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgender identity/lifestyle, self-identification, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful in the sight of God and the church.’
The private Christian school, located in Valrico around 20 miles outside of Tampa, said students found participating in such lifestyles will be asked to leave.
McKeen and his family have received death threats after news outlets quoted his email on the policy, forcing him to hire extra security at the school.
The Christian school charges up to $6,595 per year for a senior student to attend.
Barry McKeen, administrator for Grace Christian School and community pastor, is pictured. He has received death threats after saying the Christian school will only refer to students by their sex assigned at birth and pupils who are LGBTQ will be asked to leave
Some callers threatened to burn down his home, while others said they would kill his family, he said.
But despite the death threats, McKeen said he is refusing to back down.
In an interview with Fox News, McKeen added: ‘If I backed down from something like this, I’m abandoning what God has said is the truth. I …. kind of rack my brain to like, “How is this hard for people to understand? This is what God said.”
‘This is one of the many reasons we have a Christian school, and we’re not going to abandon this policy. God has spoken on these issues.’
McKeen said he only answers to God, not ‘bloggers or TickTokers’.
No students have been kicked out from the school over their sexual orientation, he said in a video statement, although they had come to an agreement with one family that their student would change schools.
The policy is not new, McKeen said, asking why his school had been singled out when dozens of Christian schools across Florida practice the same policy.
He said the policy of expulsion because of sexual activity between students would be enforced if the pupil was heterosexual as well.
Grace Christian School, the center of the controversy around LGBT acceptance in schools, is pictured
Others have rallied in support of the school, he said, with one man donating $5,000 mailed alongside a note telling school leaders to ‘stay strong’ and ‘keep the faith’, according to NBC.
He said in the statement that he agrees with the church’s position that homosexuality is a sin and that ‘any sin will condemn you to hell, and that’s why we need a savior.’
‘We’re not going to change because god’s not going to chance,’ McKeen concluded in the statement.
‘We are not going to be hateful, but we are not going to back away from this policy.’