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Conservative Timothy Simmons tried (and failed) to get his Virginia district to turn on a queer student's moving art piece about religious trauma.
A conservative school board member in Virginia singled out a queer student over the weekend by calling an emergency meeting to determine whether or not their piece of artwork should be allowed in the school's spring show.
Abby Driscoll’s piece about religious trauma, “But Not Enough to Save You,” was made for the Fort Defiance High School’s spring show, which explicitly had the theme of “trauma.” It depicts praying hands gripping a rosary surrounded by rainbow pages of the Bible, alongside the powerful statement: “GOD LOVES YOU BUT NOT ENOUGH TO SAVE YOU.”
“This piece is representative of the idea that growing up queer meant you couldn’t be saved by God,” its description reads. “I grew up in a religious background and that influenced this project. The idea of the glowing red cross is to represent evil in the eyes of God and the bleeding rainbow represents devotion vs identity.”
Augusta County School Board member Tim Simmons took to Facebook to say that the heartfelt piece was "seen as offensive to some, including myself" and that the board would discuss it in a special closed session Saturday night. He said that the board "is working with our legal counsel and I am currently reviewing the Supreme Court rulings relevant to this situation."
Driscoll’s family told local outlet News Leader Sunday that they were not told about the meeting beforehand, and that she only found out about the decision to let her art stay through social media like everyone else.
While all the details of the closed-door meeting have not been revealed, Driscoll's principal reportedly stood up for her, and Simmons' push ultimately failed. The conservative still took to Facebook afterwards to share that the board "agreed to work on a policy that will address issues like this going forward."
"For now, the art work in question will be removed by the time students arrive back at school on Monday as the art show ends on Sunday," he wrote.
Simmons was ruthlessly mocked by his constituents under both of his posts, with several people slamming his infringements on Driscoll's right to free speech and expression.
"Imagine believing you have the right to go through life without seeing anything that might offend you. Imagine trampling over the rights of others just to make sure there’s no possibility you might be offended," one person wrote.
"wow...who are the snowflakes again?" added another.
One commenter, who said they are a member of their local school board, wrote: "From one school board member to another, this is embarrassing for you, and sad for the students on your district. To suggest that the offense others have taken to this piece of art trumps the very real pain that *your student* — whom you should be representing and caring for — is attempting to convey is ludicrous. Please do better."
