Fifth Third Bank stopped donating to a voucher program because of anti-LGBTQ Christian schools

Fifth Third Bank headquarters building in Cincinnati.
Photo by Derek Jensen (Tysto)

On Tuesday, Fifth Third Bank announced that it will stop donating million of dollars to a Florida private school voucher program due to schools that discriminate against LGBTQ people and receive the funding.

Fifth Third Bank’s announcement comes after a January 23 article in the Orlando Sentinel revealed that 156 private Florida schools (all of them Christian) that receive public scholarship funding also discriminate against LGBTQ students and their families — from denying admission to expulsion to teaching that homosexuality is a sin.

Related: Florida’s plan for bullied LGBTQ kids? Send them to Christian schools.

The article said there are no state laws to protect LGBTQ students from this kind of discrimination. Democrats in Florida have been working to change that, but it has been difficult with a Republican-dominated legislature.

Following the article, companies like Fifth Third Bank began to face public pressure on Twitter to pull their donations.

State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D), who has lead the charge to change Florida’s laws to protect LGBTQ students, tweeted Tuesday morning condemning companies who continue to donate to the voucher program and tagged Fifth Third Bank in the tweet.

The bank responded the very same day, saying “Thanks Rep. Smith for your feedback. We definitely stand with #LGBTQ students and parents. We have communicated with program officials that we will not be contributing again until more inclusive policies have been adopted by all participating schools to protect the sexual orientation of all our students. (And, we will see you at the next @OrlandoPride!).”

Smith is excited by Fifth Third Bank’s decision. “These schools are literally poisoning children’s minds against LGBTQ people, and they are funded by taxpayers. It’s wrong,” Smith told Florida Politics.

Smith also explained that….

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