Anti-gay EMU social-work student loses appeal

http://www.freep.com/article/20100727/NEWS06/100727038/1320/Anti-gay-EMU-social-work-student-loses-appeal

POSTED: 4:01 P.M. JULY 27, 2010
Anti-gay EMU social-work student loses appeal
BY DAVID ASHENFELTER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER


Lawyers for a national religious liberty group said they plan to appeal a federal judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former Eastern Michigan University graduate student who said she was kicked out of a master’s program because she refused on religious grounds to counsel a homosexual client.

“There are aspects of the decision that present appealable issues and we disagree with the court on his conclusions,” David French, a lawyer for Alliance Defense Fund said today.

EMU said it was pleased.

“Eastern has a responsibility to the public to exercise careful and deliberate judgment about who should be permitted to graduate from our professional schools and practice in the education and health professions,” said Walter Kraft, EMU vice president of communications. He said the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld such decisions by public universities because courts “should show great respect for the faculty’s professional judgment.”

more...


Here's some info on Alliance Defense Fund:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Alliance_Defense_Fund


The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) was founded in 1994 by more than 30 Christian ministries, as a response to the American Civil Liberties Union, to defend "family values." ADF's major focus is strategizing and coordinating with hundreds of lawyers and right-wing groups to defend what they define as "Christian legal issues." Examples include anti-gay cases like Boy Scouts of America v. Dale and Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network, and a national strategy to "protect marriage," following Vermont's decision to allow same-sex civil unions. People for the American Way notes that ADF's founding groups "are influential members of the Right, they are pro-life and anti-gay and their ultimate goal is to see the law and government of the US enshrined with conservative Christian principles." In 2004, ADF's total revenue was $17,921,146 (fiscal year ended June 2004), with net assets of $20,581,560. <1>

"In 1994, ADF solicited funds on Christian radio with an ad claiming, 'Pro-life demonstrations may soon be illegal. ... Religious broadcasting may soon be censored. Hiring homosexuals in Christian schools, churches, and even as Sunday School teachers may soon become the law of the land. ... Don't let Christianity become a crime' ... In 2003, ADF President, CEO, and General Counsel Alan Sears and ADF Vice President Craig Osten "expanded on that theme" in The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today, "which ties homosexuality to pedophilia and other "disordered sexual behavior," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, 2005.

ADF claims a high success rate in their legal challenges: "God has granted wins in almost three out of four cases decided (John 15:5). Cases that strengthen our position in the battle for religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and traditional family values." <2>

In its 2007 fiscal year, ADF spent $3,951,791 on direct litigation, according to Guidestar.<1>

more...

She ought not be eligible for a professional social work license in any event.

I never knew any social work majors who were that nasty, but then, I didn't know all of them. There were a few of us liberals on the campus at the time, and we tended to have each others' backs when needed. The social work majors, the secondary ed majors, and those of us in the drama club all tended to be the more liberal of the student body.

a counselor.

http://www.ontopmag.com/article.aspx?id=6113&MediaType=1&Category=26

On viewing Ms. Keeton, she looks... never mind.

:thumbsup:

It's like Catholic Fundies who want to be pharmacists but not dispense contraceptives.

They don't belong in helping professions, nor in professional programs.