megimoo
07-15-2009, 11:34 AM
Homosexclamation! Christian student fights prof, wins big
Judge rules college can't censor religious speech for being 'offensive'
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FAITH UNDER FIRE
Homosexclamation! Christian student fights prof, wins big
Judge rules college can't censor religious speech for being 'offensive'
Los Angeles City College professor's evaluation of student's speech, marked with the words, "Ask God what your grade is."
A California court has ruled in favor of a student who was insulted for defending traditional marriage and has ordered the college to strike from its website a sexual harassment policy that censors speech deemed "offensive" to homosexual people.
As WND reported, Jonathan Lopez, a student at Los Angeles City College, was delivering a speech on his Christian faith in speech class when professor John Matteson interrupted him, called him a "fascist b----rd" for mentioning a moral conviction against homosexual marriage and later told him to "ask God what your grade is."
The professor also warned on his evaluation of Lopez's speech, "Proselytizing is inappropriate in public school," and later threatened to have Lopez expelled.
Represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund, Lopez sued the Los Angeles City College District, the largest community college system in the U.S., with over 135,000 students.
The lawsuit not only targeted the school over the professor's comments, however, but also sought removal of a campus sexual harassment and speech policy that court documents allege "systematically prohibits and punishes political and religious speech by students that is outside the campus political mainstream."
Is free speech 'dead on arrival'? Get the book that shows how Americans are being punished for stepping out of line!
ADF claims the district's policy, which labels speech as sexual harassment whenever it might be "perceived as offensive or unwelcome" – such as Lopez's opinions on sexual morality – opens the door for Christians and defenders of traditional marriage to suffer abuses similar to the type Lopez endured.
"Professor Matteson clearly violated Mr. Lopez's free speech rights by engaging in viewpoint discrimination and retaliation because he disagreed with the student's religious beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel David French in a statement. "Moreover, the district has a speech code that has created a culture of censorship on campus. America's public universities and colleges are supposed to be a 'marketplace of ideas,' not a hotbed of intolerance."
In a ruling handed down last week, U.S. District Judge George H. King apparently agreed, calling the campus policy "unconstitutionally overbroad" and ordering it to be stricken from the college's website.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=103998
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Judge rules college can't censor religious speech for being 'offensive'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAITH UNDER FIRE
Homosexclamation! Christian student fights prof, wins big
Judge rules college can't censor religious speech for being 'offensive'
Los Angeles City College professor's evaluation of student's speech, marked with the words, "Ask God what your grade is."
A California court has ruled in favor of a student who was insulted for defending traditional marriage and has ordered the college to strike from its website a sexual harassment policy that censors speech deemed "offensive" to homosexual people.
As WND reported, Jonathan Lopez, a student at Los Angeles City College, was delivering a speech on his Christian faith in speech class when professor John Matteson interrupted him, called him a "fascist b----rd" for mentioning a moral conviction against homosexual marriage and later told him to "ask God what your grade is."
The professor also warned on his evaluation of Lopez's speech, "Proselytizing is inappropriate in public school," and later threatened to have Lopez expelled.
Represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund, Lopez sued the Los Angeles City College District, the largest community college system in the U.S., with over 135,000 students.
The lawsuit not only targeted the school over the professor's comments, however, but also sought removal of a campus sexual harassment and speech policy that court documents allege "systematically prohibits and punishes political and religious speech by students that is outside the campus political mainstream."
Is free speech 'dead on arrival'? Get the book that shows how Americans are being punished for stepping out of line!
ADF claims the district's policy, which labels speech as sexual harassment whenever it might be "perceived as offensive or unwelcome" – such as Lopez's opinions on sexual morality – opens the door for Christians and defenders of traditional marriage to suffer abuses similar to the type Lopez endured.
"Professor Matteson clearly violated Mr. Lopez's free speech rights by engaging in viewpoint discrimination and retaliation because he disagreed with the student's religious beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel David French in a statement. "Moreover, the district has a speech code that has created a culture of censorship on campus. America's public universities and colleges are supposed to be a 'marketplace of ideas,' not a hotbed of intolerance."
In a ruling handed down last week, U.S. District Judge George H. King apparently agreed, calling the campus policy "unconstitutionally overbroad" and ordering it to be stricken from the college's website.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=103998
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