Singer Chely Wright was shocked by
Bryan Fischer's claim of a gay agenda in Mix It Up at Lunch Day, which
encourages schoolchildren to eat lunch with someone they normally
might not.
The 11-year-old program is sponsored by
the Southern Poverty Law Center and more than 2,500 schools
participate.
Fischer, host of the American Family
Association (AFA) sponsored radio show Focal Point, told The
New York Times that the AFA was encouraging parents to keep their
children home from school on October 30.
In an e-mail to members, the AFA called
the project “a nationwide push to promote the homosexual lifestyle
in public schools.”
In an appearance on cabler Current's So
That Happened, Wright, who is openly gay, called Fischer's latest
attack shocking.
“I'm always a little bit shocked,”
Wright told host John Fugelsang. “I've grown used to knowing that
there are people out there who say such hateful things. But just
seeing it and hearing it daily from somebody that has such a
platform. … It always kind of knocks the wind out of me a little
bit.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Fischer's anti-gay rhetoric was
challenged during a CNN appearance to discuss his group's concerns
with the 1-day event, leading
to a sudden ending of the interview.