Antoinette Raucci Aumack, a school board member in Belmar, wrote on Facebook that “homosexuality is a sin.” Yet she will continue to represent students and families in a town with “one of the gayest beaches in New Jersey” and has doubled-down on her position (although she deleted the post). From TapInto: “When asked in a phone interview to comment on her post, Raucci Aumack said, ‘Yes, homosexuality is a sin. It’s a sin.’ She also stated, ‘It’s not an interpretation, it says it clearly in the Bible.'”
In a follow-up question asking if her belief that “homosexuality is a sin” would have any influence when she is asked to make a judgment on the school board about curriculum that would include sexual orientation, she stated, “I don’t know how I want to answer that. If all you Democrats want to attack me, fine. I’m definitely not Aileen Fahy. I am not nasty, I am not a b****. I’m against abortion, I’m for the Bible. And when I say something she attacks me. I have a whole problem with this conversation so I’m going to hang up.” She subsequently hung up and ended the interview.
(Aileen Fahy is another Belmar school board member who says she did not send Raucci Aumack’s post to TapInto.)
Raucci Aumack told the Asbury Park Press,“the only thing I can say is what the people intended for evil God intended for good. Genesis 50:20.”
Belmar Superintendent Jimmy Alvarez issued this statement: “The board of education does not comment on individual social media posts or statements regarding personal speech, political views, or religious thoughts. Our policies and regulations are in compliance with state and federal statutes to ensure that we create an inclusive and safe environment for all our students.”
Christian Fuscarino, executive director of Garden State Equality and a graduate of Belmar Elementary School, said, “The responsibility of school board members is to provide a safe and affirming learning environment for all students. Personal religious beliefs are not a valid excuse for prejudice — there are people of faith all over New Jersey who wholeheartedly accept the LGBTQ+ people in their communities.”
A member of the clergy, Reverend Chase Danford of the Trinity Apostolic Church of Asbury Park, notes, “Nowhere in the Bible is it written that homosexuality is a sin.”
Here is a screenshot of her full post:
