According to the music teacher, personal pics and other information were taken from his cell phone and posted to the Valley Lutheran High School Facebook page. Matthew Gerhold, an openly gay music teacher based in Iowa, told the Iowa Capitol Dispatch he was forced to resign from his job at a private Christian school after he was blackmailed over his sexual orientation. LGBTQ+ people-and especially those who live with more than one marginalized identity, like trans sex workers and queer people of color-have always faced structural barriers thanks to conservatives (and, at times, Democrats as well), but the recent push in anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is a decided step into the extreme. As Daily Kos continues to cover, Republicans are more than happy to mobilize their voter base against LGBTQ+ folks leading up to midterm elections.
