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Virginia school board member compares Turning Point USA to KKK over transgender event

By Joshua Nelson

Copyright foxnews

Virginia school board member compares Turning Point USA to KKK over transgender event

A Virginia school board member is under fire for comparing Turning Point USA to the KKK, a local outlet reported. The TPUSA chapter at Western Albemarle High School scheduled an event, Two Genders, One Truth, on Wednesday. The event’s presentation was conducted by Family Foundation of Virginia President Victoria Cobb, who criticized transgender ideology. According to The National Desk, reposted by KATV-ABC7, “The high school had originally canceled the event but later changed its mind, leading to Allison Spillman, an at-large representative of Albemarle County Public Schools, to make the wild comparison on Facebook.” “As a school board member and proud parent of a trans student I am beyond livid,” Spillman wrote on Facebook. TCU DISPUTES CLAIMS IT CANCELED TURNING POINT EVENT WITH DE-TRANSITIONER “In my opinion this is not a matter of free speech, it’s hate speech and has no place in our schools. If the KKK wanted a speaker during lunch would we allow that as well?” Spillman accused the school district of violating its own policy by allowing the TPUSA chapter to host the event. “If this makes you angry too then I encourage you to email our school board and the school admin and let them know,” she continued. “Shame on ACPS.” The post caught the attention of conservatives. High School Republican Federation of Virginia Chairman Kellen Habibelahy expressed concern about Spillman putting TPUSA members in danger. “Albemarle County school board member Allison Spillman is comparing the Turning Point USA club there to the KKK and claiming they push hate speech,” he wrote. “Talking like this could put the members in danger.” A spokesperson for Albemarle County School District told Fox News Digital that “with respect to At-Large Board Member Allison Spillman’s social media comments, I am sharing part of the response our School Board Chair, Dr. Kate Acuff, has given when addressing community concerns.” LIBERAL GEORGIA PROFESSOR SPONSORS TPUSA CHAPTER DESPITE CONFLICTING VIEWS: ‘A RISK WORTH TAKING’ “Regarding the comments Ms. Spillman made, note that School Board members are each elected officials and any sanctions are felt at the ballot box,” Acuff said. “Although this year I serve as Chair, no Chair has the authority to control the speech of other School Board members or sanction them. Provided each School Board member makes it clear when making public comments that they do not speak for the entire School Board, each is responsible for their own comments. Only the School Board Chair and Vice Chair can speak on behalf of the entire School Board.” Spillman later posted a statement on Facebook following the backlash to her comments about TPUSA. “As a member of the Albemarle County School Board and a parent of a transgender student, I want to be clear about a recent post I made regarding an upcoming Turning Point USA event at Western Albemarle High School,” Spillman said. FLORIDA VOWS LEGAL ACTION AGAINST ANY EFFORTS TO BLOCK TPUSA CHAPTERS ON CAMPUS “My concern is and always has been about protecting students and ensuring our schools remain safe, inclusive environments. The remarks I made were aimed at the content of the invited speaker’s message, which I believe denies the identities of transgender students and contributes to a hostile environment for them,” she added. Spillman explained further that her intent was not to equate students involved in any club or organization to the Ku Klux Klan. “In raising the example of the Ku Klux Klan, my intent was not to equate students involved in any club with that organization. Rather, I was drawing a parallel about the principle of setting boundaries for outside speakers who promote harmful or exclusionary ideas. We would not invite openly racist or antisemitic speakers into our schools; similarly, we must question whether it is appropriate to host a speaker whose message invalidates the existence of transgender students,” she said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I aimed to raise the very salient question: what, if any, procedures are in place to vet any third parties proposed to be invited into our schools to interact directly with students? And if they result in such a speaker being invited to address our students in our schools, shouldn’t they be reexamined?” Kirk was assassinated Sept. 10 during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.