GoFundMe Takes Down Campaign Against LGBTIQ School Classes
The fundraising platform GoFundMe has taken down a campaign aimed at raising funds to legally fight the implementation of a UK LGBTIQ education program, No Outsiders.
The Guardian reported Humanists UK, an organisation that campaigns for tolerance, approached GoFundMe claiming the campaign broke the fundraising platform’s terms and conditions.
GoFundMe responded by taking down the campaign saying, “We have removed this page as it violates our terms of service.”
The website’s guidelines read that it may not be used for “campaigns we deem, in our sole discretion, to be in support of, or for the legal defence of alleged crimes associated with hate, violence, harassment, bullying, discrimination, terrorism, or intolerance of any kind relating to race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender or gender identity, or serious disabilities or diseases.”
The page was set up by protester Shakeel Afsar to raise the funds needed to fight a high court injunction against him protesting near Anderton Park primary school in Birmingham, with Birmingham City Council winning the right to impose an exclusion zone around the school.
Before the campaign was taken down it had raised £9,500 of the target £30,000.
Afsar and other demonstrators are protesting the No Outsiders program, which was written by teacher Andrew Moffat and aims to educate school students about the characteristics protected by the Equality Act 2010. The program explores different types of relationships and families, including LGBTIQ ones.
Humanists UK said they were “delighted GoFundMe has removed the page”.
BBC reports that Afsar plans on resuming his protest outside of the school’s exclusion zone later this week.
