School district ends partnership with LGBTQ+ program after rightwingers get mad at card game

After a 20-year partnership, the Duval County, Florida school system has canceled its contract with local LGBTQ nonprofit JASMYN after alleging that the organization was playing a sexually explicit game with youth. JASMYN has denied the allegations.

According to the Florida Times-Union, it was JASMYN, in fact, who reached out to the school district to share that a right-wing website had run a story about the nonprofit’s Instagram account featuring a photo of people playing a card game featuring drawings of penises. The website claimed it was 13-year-olds playing the game, but JASMYN CEO Cindy Watson said that wasn’t true.

Watson said that the organization only posted about the game as part of its HIV-prevention outreach and that they never actually played it. And beyond that, Watson emphasized that the organization serves LGBTQ people all the way up to age 29 and that game was never meant to appeal to minors.

“That is an adult game. It was meant for adults and that is exactly how we were trying to offer it.”

But Duval County canceled the contract anyway.

“The district simply cannot partner with the organization given their use of program materials that the district believes to be inappropriate for use with children,” said Superintendent Diana Greene in an email to principals, adding that “the termination of this agreement in no way impairs our continued commitment to all students and employees, including those that identify as LGBTQ+.”

Among other work, JASMYN’s contract with the school included providing support for gay-straight alliance clubs. After losing its $45,000 contract, JASMYN posted a lengthy statement to its website decrying the current right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ crusade that continues to accuse LGBTQ+ people of being pedophiles and groomers.

The organization said that…

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