Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina has been in all kinds of trouble with various different organizations lately, and there are no signs that things will calm down anytime soon. While several of DeMint’s campaign methods have been controversial, one in particular has managed to offend a great many people.

Early last week, DeMint made a comment to a local newspaper in South Carolina in which he stated that openly homosexual people and unmarried women living with their boyfriends should have no place teaching at a public school.  He believes that the “immoralities” of these people should not be reflected onto the children. However, no such concerns were raised when it came to the topic of heterosexual single men who sleep around being teachers. Obviously, since DeMint wants nothing but the best for the children of South Carolina, it is absolutely critical that there are no gay or single female teachers for fear that their immoral lifestyles might rub off on the kids.  Apparently, he hoped that the children would grow up to be sexist and homophobic bigots just like him.

Now, LGBT and women rights groups are demanding an apology, as they rightfully should. However, when asked about his remark, DeMint simply said that everyone was in agreement with his beliefs.   “[When I said those things,] no one came to my defense,” DeMint said. “But everyone would come to me and whisper that I shouldn’t back down. They don’t want government purging their rights and their freedom to religion.”

And so the topic of religion in the government appears once again. Politicians should be discouraged from projecting personal beliefs onto their platforms. Despite what the Bible or other religious doctrines might say, the church and state should remain separate.

It is hard to understand how DeMint made it as far as he has. Apart from his blatant anti-homosexual sentiments, which of course might actually appeal to some, DeMint also dismisses unmarried, heterosexual women. Why would any woman (even those who are deeply devout and leaning towards the extremist right-winged conservative side) have voted for him in the first place?  Do women in South Carolina accept being passed off as second-class citizens, especially by the person who is governing their state? DeMint himself was raised by his mother, who was a single parent. So it is all the more baffling as to where his low opinion towards women comes from.

If gay people and single women were actually denied public jobs as DeMint suggests, it would essentially amount to a violation of basic human rights. Why should a person be discriminated against and be denied a job simply based on his or her sexual orientation or preference? Being gay or being a single woman does not deter from one’s ability to teach. 

It is no wonder that stories of kids getting bullied to death by their peers in school based on their sexual orientation are still making headlines today. With politicians such as DeMint in office, children are already taught to think that being different in a society with many like-minded people is an open forum to be discriminated against. According to the State Education Ratings, South Carolina continues to rank last in the United States for the quality of education in schools.

Despite the discrimination, DeMint, unfortunately, is not alone in his views. He is but one of many other conservatives who believe that America should go back to its 'traditional' roots, however unfair or discrinimatory those roots might have been. First, openly gay people and women with boyfriends are not allowed to teach, and then what happens? Will the bathrooms and drinking fountains start to become segregated based on sexual orientations?

If the Jim Crow mentality is slowly resurfacing, why not just turn back the clock until people are able to enslave others again? The bottom line is that DeMint is giving the impression that anyone who does not adhere to his code of moral beliefs is inferior to him. This is prejudice at its finest and frankly this should not be authorized within any form government let alone in Congress. 

Reach Reporter Candice Aman here. 

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