NYC Mayor Sacks Education Policy Advisor Over Anti-Gay Views

NYC Mayor Sacks Education Policy Advisor Over Anti-Gay Views
Image: Rev. Kathlyn Barrett-Layne (left) and NYC Mayor Eric Adams (right).

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has fired one of his education policy advisors over her past anti-gay rhetoric.

Adams’ spokesperson said that Rev. Kathlyn Barrett-Layne, who heads Staten Island’s Reach Out and Touch Ministries, won’t be joining his administration. 

Trigger Warning: This story has details of homophobic and transphobic language, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14.  For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.

“We were unaware of these writings and we’ve asked her to resign,” the spokesperson told The Daily News

Calls Gay Relationships ‘Sin’

Barrett-Layne was one of the nine persons appointed to the Panel for Educational Policy on Tuesday.

The Daily News reported that in a 2013 book Challenging Your Disappointments, Barrett-Layne had equated same-sex relationships with “sins” such as paedophilia and other crimes. 

“Leaders struggle with the same temptations of drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, fornication, adultery, pedophilia, stealing, lying, envy, covetousness, and every other sin that the congregation struggle with,” Barrett-Layne wrote. She added that incarcerated people “live in the grip of fornicating homosexual lifestyles.” 

Anti-Gay Pastors

The Daily News reported that in a 2004 book, Barrett-Layne had written that after a counselling session with a lesbian woman, her three-year-old daughter, who was in the room, told her “she was a boy”. 

Barrett-Layne said she and her husband “prayed against every spirit that was not of God, including the spirit of homosexuality.”

“At the end of that prayer, my daughter asked me if she was a girl. When I told her yes, she happily began to sing and rejoice about being mommy and daddy’s little girl. To tell you this was one of the most frightening experiences I had with my little girl is an understatement.”

According to the publication, Mayor Adams had previously appointed three anti-gay Christian pastors Fernando Cabrera, Erick Salgado and Gilford Monrose to his administration.

 

If you feel distressed reading the story, you can reach out to support services.

For 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14

For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.

 

 

 

You May Also Like

Comments are closed.