High schooler who posted Bible verses in response to pride flags suspended for 'targeting' Gay-Straight Alliance club

A student in Ohio claims she received a day of in-school suspension after she hung Bible verses on walls and lockers in response to LGBTQ pride flags decorating the halls. The teen also alleges that her principal said she was “targeting the [Gay-Straight Alliance] organization.”

In a video shared on her mother’s Facebook page, Gabby Helsinger details the incident that occurred at Lebanon High School. Her mother, Tina Helsinger, captioned the video, “Lebanon schools celebrates [sic] evil and punishes righteousness!!”

“On Thursday when I got to school, I see that there were pride flags, posters around my school,” Gabby said in the video. “And I felt the need to write down some Bible verses so I could put them around my school. And I wrote them down and I put them around the lockers, the walls.” It is unknown which Bible verses Gabby chose to share with her peers. 

Gabby said that when she was returning from lunch, she witnessed her teachers taking down the Bible verses.

“The next day, I got called to the office and there is a letter that says that I have an ISS, which is an in-school suspension, and the reason why I have it is because ‘abuse of others, disrespect, rudeness’ because I put Bible verses up ‘targeting the GSA organization.’ I did not know what the GSA organization was or meant,” she claimed.

She additionally noted that she had “seen that there [were] people in my school that needed help… They don’t need to be living in the confusion of wondering if they should be gay, bi, lesbian, trans — anything like that. And I know that God is the only way that they can be healed by that, and that’s why I did it. I was not targeting any kind of organization.”

When she arrived at the principal’s office, according to Gabby, he asked her why she hung the Bible verses. “And I said, ‘Because I wanted to spread the word of God.’ And [the principal] goes, ‘Well did you have permission?’ And I said, ‘No.’ I didn’t know you had to have permission because people do it a lot — putting Post-It notes on people’s lockers, so I just did it.”

Gabby goes on to claim that she asked the principal why, if God or Jesus is mentioned, it gets removed “straight away,” while “gay pride stuff” is not punished.

Principal Scott Butler, who is unable to comment on student discipline matters, did tell Yahoo Lifestyle in an email, “In general, when a student violates the Student Code of Conduct, there are consequences for those actions.”

Gabby’s mother, Tina Helsinger did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment. However, her Facebook post reads that she “appealed the punishment stating ‘Posting a Bible verse is not abuse of others, disrespect/insolence/rudeness and in no way was it targeting GSA.'” Regardless of the appeal, Tina states that Gabby is expected to report to ISS on Wednesday.