Viki Knox, the New Jersey high school
teacher accused of writing anti-gay Facebook posts, is not talking
about the controversy, but Governor Chris Christie has.
Knox posted on Facebook a photo of a
school display recognizing October as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender History month. It included photos of Virginia Woolf,
Harvey Milk and Neil Patrick Harris.
The 49-year-old Knox, who teaches
special education classes, wrote “homosexuality is a perverted
spirit that has existed from the beginning of creation” and a “sin”
that “breeds like cancer.” She defended her position in
subsequent messages to Facebook users, saying that she believed being
gay was “against the nature and character of God” and that the
high school was “not the setting to promote, encourage, support and
foster homosexuality.”
At a Tuesday school board meeting, gay
rights advocates urged officials to take action against Knox, who has
been placed on administrative leave.
But Knox is not talking. In an
interview with New York CBS affiliate CBS-2, Knox remained silent as
her husband, Gene, came to her defense.
“Everybody's entitled to an opinion,”
Mr. Knox said. “They can persecute her, but they can't prosecute
her.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
Meanwhile, Governor Christie has said
he is concerned about the teacher's comments.
“I think that kind of example is not
a positive one at all to be setting for folks who have such an
important and influential position in our society,” Christie said
Wednesday on 770 WABC Radio. “I'm really concerned about those
kinds of statements being made.”
“I would like to see an examination
of how that teacher conducts herself in the classroom,” Christie
added.