Mother Jones', SPLC Launch Dishonest Attack on Bachmann over Gay Teen Suicide

If one read’s this Mother Jones hit piece, you’d think there’s rampant homophobia in Rep. Michele Bachmann’s home school district and it’s somehow Bachmann’s fault. Nonsense. Also, the Southern Poverty Law Center, choosing politics over integrity, has filed a federal lawsuit. Funny how it was timed to her rise in the polls. Imagine that.

The Teen Suicide Epidemic in Michele Bachmann’s District

The reality is, the issue surfaced in the news purely as a matter of teen suicide in general and the district’s numbers are not at all out of line with national averages. Factually, there is no suicide epidemic at all, let alone one for gay teens.

Furthermore, there have been several recent health-related staff and student deaths, a murder and a car accident in the district. Professionals felt those might put surviving teens at risk; so, they’ve instituted a Summer care program.

Sadly, that didn’t stop Leftist activist organizations and publications from trying to make political hay out of it. These elements have no shame and are disgracefully exploiting a well-known at risk group, teenagers as a whole, by twisting the facts to suit a purely political agenda.

In fact, the issue surfaced in a report here in June because of those extra precautions the district was implementing covering the Summer months. That’s likely when the Left spotted it and realized they could try to spin it to their political advantage to target Bachmann. So what if they had to trample the memory of any straight students who, depressed for some reason, took their own lives. It’s all just a game to them. How disgraceful.

Anoka-Hennepin School District has had seven suicides and one overdose in a 12 to 14 month time span. Statistically suicide is the second leading cause of death in the state, Reidenberg said. One suicide was a student from Champlin Park High School the rest occurred in district schools in Anoka County.

But Carlson later pointed out that Anoka-Hennepin is at average numbers for the number of suicides it’s seen compared to other school districts. With Anoka-Hennepin’s sheer size, being the largest school district in Minnesota, to some it seemed like there were more than average.

“These kids exist everywhere and this is not unique here,” Carlson said. “Anoka High School has had other tragedies happening.”

Two staff members have died, four students have died from health problems, and there have been three car crashes and one student murder.

The card carrying the message that the district cares also says, “Your life is precious to us,” a message that they hope carries hope to those who need it, that someone out there cares.

Phone numbers available for support on the card include:

Anoka-Hennepin Cares Summer Support: 763-433-4695.

The card lists the following services and contact numbers for further services and help:

Twin Cities Crisis Services, available 24 hours a day: 763-755-3801.

Michele Bachmann’s $4,700 Hair and Makeup Bill