A five-year-old girl in Louisiana, US, studying in kindergarten class was kicked out of her religious school because her parents are a same-sex couple.
According to NBC News, Emily and Jennie Parker were informed by the school during a meeting with the school’s director and a pastor on Saturday that since their marriage didn’t follow the teachings of the Bible Baptist Academy in DeQuincy, they needed to find another school for their daughter, Zoey
“Because of our lifestyle choices, we wouldn’t be a good fit for the school,” Jennie Parker, 31, told NBC on Wednesday.
Emily, 28, added that during the conference, she and her wife were told that as a religious-based school, it would teach students that marriage can happen only between a man and a woman.
Emily is Zoey’s biological aunt. The couple adopted the 5-year-old on August 3 after the girl’s 22-year-old father died following an accident at his job in September 2020.
“She lost her father, she lost her mother and now she’s losing her school which she loves very much,” Jennie told KPLC, a local news affiliate.
In a statement, the school tried to defend its decision to expel Zoey saying, “There are times where our commitment to upholding our Christian values will not line up with the values of other people. This should not be interpreted that we have any hatred or malice toward them.”
However, Emily and Jennie Parker are receiving massive support from the community. They have received several offers from other local Christian schools for Zoey to start her kindergarten year.
“It’s a blessing in disguise. We have an opportunity to bring her to a school which is a little closer and it’s a new opportunity for her to make new friends,” Jennie was quoted as saying.
(With inputs from agencies)
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