A former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) accused U.S. churches of committing a sin of omission by not speaking out against what he termed bullying violence against gay public-school students.

Speaking at the Human Rights Campaign’s Clergy Call for Justice and Equality on May 24, the Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, former pastor of Mission Bay Community Church in San Francisco, in conjunction with Campaign organizers, attempted to marry the bullying issue with broader pro-gay issues, including repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and alleged employment discrimination. The HRC claims it is the largest pro-gay rights organization in America.

“Make no mistake, the deafening silence that screams from our church communities gives tacit approval to the obvious violence that is inflicted upon [gay] young people in our schools,” Reyes-Chow said during a speech in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol.

Although bullying in schools has increased in American public schools over the past few years, it remains a point of contention among some experts as to whether or not openly gay students are more at risk as potential targets.

Last September, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network released the results of its 2009 survey of students. The group claims “nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students experienced harassment at school in the past year and nearly two-thirds felt unsafe because of their sexual orientation.”

Candi Cushman of Focus on the Family challenged the survey. “You have to consider how these data samples were collected,” she reported.

“First, according to the GLSEN report, ‘participants were obtained through community-based groups or service organizations serving LGBT youth’ –in other words, they were collected from homosexual advocacy organizations that obviously have a vested interest in data outcomes. Thirty-eight of these groups provided 355 surveys,” she said.

Cushman also questioned the objectivity of such surveys. “It’s a generally recognized principle that truly objective, scientific research should not be conducted by people who have a vested, political interest in the outcome. But this principle doesn’t seem to faze GLSEN,” she said.