In response to the Human Rights Campaign’s request, it contained one word “No.”
A Change.org petition had more than 400 signatures as of Friday, asking that Ashjian be removed from the school board.
LGBT advocates in Fresno demanded an apology from Ashjian for those statements at a school board meeting on Wednesday, where some of his fellow trustees also took issue with his viewpoints.
The board was informed Wednesday of past allegations of anti-LGBT comments made by Ashjian, in addition to his contributions to Proposition 8 – a 2008 measure that aimed to ban same-sex marriage.
According to a deposition from a 2011 libel lawsuit Ashjian was involved in, derogatory comments made about the organization Gay Fresno were tracked to a computer at his home. In the deposition, Ashjian admits to posting comments about Gay Fresno to a website called Ripoffreport.com, but says he can’t recall what he posted. The attorneys in the deposition claim that only three comments were made about Gay Fresno on the website – all anonymously.
The comments say Gay Fresno is run by “pimps in disguise” and “they stole my money, my dignity and my virginity. These people are evil.”
The comments were posted after Gay Fresno added Ashjian’s businesses to a list of companies that should be boycotted for supporting Proposition 8. Gay Fresno changed its name to LGBT Fresno – in part due to the comments posted on Ripoffreport.com.
“It’s just another example of why he is unfit to be in charge of a school district,” Jason Scott, president of LGBT Fresno, said Thursday. “He’s setting a very poor example for students.”
HT: The Fresno Bee
