David Williams
Texas State Board of Education candidate David Williams, a Republican running for the seat held by Democrat Michael Soto, has made public his view that gays can change their sexuality.
The buzz about Williams’ remarks started last week when the Texas Freedom Network reported that he had posted a comment on the Family Research Council’s Facebook page about being proud of the fact that a Gay Straight Alliance at his son’s school in 2006 was rejected as a new club by the student council. Williams was then a public school teacher in Oklahoma. He is now a middle school math teacher at a private school in San Antonio, according to his campaign website.
FRC’a anti-gay views have led it to be identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
In the post, Williams thanks the organization for its “support for the traditional family” before mentioning that “prayer and community action” led to the GSA’s rejection, mentioning that God has led him to run for the SBOE seat. “The Lord has given me a new mission, to run for the Texas State Board of Education. Please pray for me and thank you for being a voice up there for those of us out here.”
Williams emailed TFN on Monday in response to the report that he was anti-gay because he was happy the GSA’s creation was blocked, writing that the “GSA was voted down by students in order to be fair to ex-gays that found change is possible. Students were presented the several scientific views on the origins of same sex attraction and did not think a GSA to support one view only was needed.”
In the email to TFN, Williams also linked to an article on the website of Parents and Friends of Exgays and Gays about the GSA situation years ago, mentioning his leadership position as mid-Oklahoma representative for Christian Educators Association International and his creation of a 10-step plan “to deal with homosexual activism in schools.”
“Texas State Board of Education candidate David Williams, a Republican running for the seat held by Democrat Michael Soto, has made public his view that gays can change their sexuality.” How do you know that, Mr. Williams? Did you accomplish that on your own? I’m glad the lord has given you a new mission, but…well, that mission needs to be for you to be honest about your own lifestyle and sexuality.
He fails to mention, though, that obstructing GSA’s on the basis of student council votes has been found by the US Supreme Court and by a federal Court of Appeals to be blatantly anti-constitutional: “In a case involving the University of Wisconsin, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that doling out student activity fees based on a student body election could wrongly allow funds to be allocated on the of prejudice toward a student group. In another case, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that allowing ASB status for some clubs and not others violates the federal Equal Access Act.” (https://www.aclu-wa.org/news/gay-straight-alliance-gains-recognition-federal-way-high-school)