In a recent meeting with Troy High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance, Daniels said homosexuality is a mental illness, according to Troy High School senior Skye Curtis.
In wake of the incident in December, in which Daniels came under fire for a June Facebook post against gay marriage in New York, the alliance sought to partner with Daniels to set up a program about bullying and suicide prevention.
“(We thought) we would take all the negative attention and energy and turn it into something positive,” Curtis said.
“We wouldn’t be looking for the mayor to renounce her old ways. It would just be a really good way to communicate; to heal.”
But during a Monday meeting with Daniels, in advance of Monday night’s city council meeting, members of the alliance were offended by one of Daniels’ requests.
“(Daniels said) In the interest of all things being fair, she would bring in a panel of psychologists to testify that homosexuality was a mental disease,” Curtis said.
“We mentioned that wouldn’t be in the spirit of suicide prevention, telling a room full of gay kids that they have a mental disease.”
A message left on Daniels’ cell phone Monday night had not been returned as of Tuesday afternoon. A subsequent message left Tuesday afternoon was not immediately returned.
Curtis said the alliance plans to continue the programs about bullying and suicide prevention, but Daniels will no longer be invited to participate.
“I’m not going to put my high school students in a room with this woman spewing this vitriol,” Curtis said.
“I’m still quite frankly baffled that she is an elected official and she still doesn’t quite understand the scope of her power. She’s so unwilling to take all of this influence she has and do something good with it.
“She keeps saying ‘I’m not trying to change the world.’ I keep saying ‘Why did you run for mayor?’”
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