California Turning Point USA club in jeopardy after city councilwoman's controversial comments

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

A Northern California elected official is under scrutiny over comments she made at an after-school meeting of a conservative students club, where she attributed her daughter’s sexual orientation to childhood trauma and repeated talking points criticized workplace diversity and the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.The comments by Lincoln City Councilmember Holly Andreatta at Twelve Bridges High School also have drawn attention to the emergence of Turning Point USA groups at high schools nationwide.The conservative nonprofit estimates there are now at least 1,200 chapters of its high school program, Club America.

Elected officials in Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas recently announced partnerships with the group to expand that reach to more schools in those states.“Schools have always been — but especially now — are definitely a political battleground for the Republican Party, for conservative politics,” said Hava Gordon, a sociology professor at the University of Denver who studies youth activism.The controversy over the Club America chapter at Twelve Bridges has roiled the community of Lincoln, a foothill city about 25 miles northeast of Sacramento.Dozens of students and parents spoke at a recent school board meeting, with some alleging the club created an unwelcoming environment by promoting hate speech and others defending its right to exist, according to the Sacramento Bee, which first reported on the dispute.

A group of students say they’ve collected 300 signatures on a petition calling for the club to be disbanded, the paper reported.The Western Placer Unified School District said it legally is required to respect students’ rights to form and participate in student-led clubs regardless of their viewpoint.“Protecting student free expression and protecting student well-being are shared responsibilities,” the district said in a...