HRC Blog

Anti-LGBT High School Teacher Viki Knox Resigns

October 10, 2012 by Dan Rafter, Online Campaigns Manager

One year after causing an uproar with her homophobic and transphobic online rants, a New Jersey high school teacher is resigning. Viki Knox submitted her resignation to the Union Township Board of Education over the summer and settlement talks are now underway, according to the Star-Ledger.

Knox’s resignation comes a year after there was public outcry and coordinated efforts from groups including HRC and Garden State Equality to respond to her remarks. In a rant posted to Facebook, Knox said of a bulletin board commemorating LGBT History Month:

“Why parade your unnatural immoral behaviors before the rest of us? AND YOU ARE WRONG! I/WE DO NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT ANYTHING, ANYONE. ANY BEHAVIOR OR ANY CHOICES! I DO NOT HAVE TO TOLERATE ANYTHING OTHERS WISH TO DO.”

HRC went directly to a Union Township Board of Education meeting last October and delivered the signatures of the more than 75,000 HRC members and supporters who called for disciplinary action to be taken against Knox. We successfully called on the Executive County Superintendent to open an investigation into the incident, and Governor Chris Christie condemned Knox’s remarks.

Earlier this year, we reported that the Board of Education had begun the process of filing tenure charges against Knox – the first step toward firing her.