Karen Pence’s anti-LGBTQ school got $725,000 in COVID bailout funds

The Immanuel Christian private school in Springfield, Virginia bans LGBTQ teachers and students because "homosexual acts and lifestyles are clearly perversions and reprehensible in the sight of God", at least, according to its employment application.

Unfortunately, the school got $725,000 in bail-out funds from the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a financial stimulus program designed to help keep businesses afloat during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Karen Pence, the wife of Vice President Mike Pence teaches at the school.

"It is shameful that an institution that discriminates against LGBT Americans received nearly $1 million in taxpayer funds," Kyle Herrig, president of government watchdog group Accountable.US, said in a statement to The Washington Blade. "This money was meant to help mom and pop small businesses meet payroll and keep the lights on — instead the wealthy and well-connected cashed in."

Current federal law doesn't prohibit anti-LGBTQ discrimination in the distribution of PPP funds, the publication adds, even with federal laws likeTitle VII and Title IX requiring equal opportunities regardless of gender in schools.