Posted on 04/10/2006 2:26:20 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
ATLANTA — Ruth Malhotra went to court last month for the right to be intolerant.
Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homosexuality. But the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she's a senior, bans speech that puts down others because of their sexual orientation.
Malhotra sees that as an unacceptable infringement on her right to religious expression. So she's demanding that Georgia Tech revoke its tolerance policy.
With her lawsuit, the 22-year-old student joins a growing campaign to force public schools, state colleges and private workplaces to eliminate policies protecting gays and lesbians from harassment. The religious right aims to overturn a broad range of common tolerance programs: diversity training that promotes acceptance of gays and lesbians, speech codes that ban harsh words against homosexuality, anti-discrimination policies that require college clubs to open their membership to all.
The Rev. Rick Scarborough, a leading evangelical, frames the movement as the civil rights struggle of the 21st century. "Christians," he said, "are going to have to take a stand for the right to be Christian."
In that spirit, the Christian Legal Society, an association of judges and lawyers, has formed a national group to challenge tolerance policies in federal court. Several nonprofit law firms — backed by major ministries such as Focus on the Family and Campus Crusade for Christ — already take on such cases for free.
The legal argument is straightforward: Policies intended to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination end up discriminating against conservative Christians. Evangelicals have been suspended for wearing anti-gay T-shirts to high school, fired for denouncing Gay Pride Month at work, reprimanded for refusing to attend diversity training. When they protest tolerance codes, they're labeled intolerant.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I think that this so-called diversity training establishes the PC atmosphere which outlines correct, acceptable talk and defines many topics as off limits. It is conducted during freshman orientation and is obligatory. I have seen the influence on my own children, (now 30) who shush any mention of religion, for instance.
Great point!
I actually agree with that.
That certainly would get us back to "no black people at the lunch counter" pretty quickly.
LOL! I think these guys need to hire a more adept spokesman.
True. HOWEVER.... does this college receive any federal funding? That changes the equation back again.
From a different point of view... if the college is 100% privately funded, and this student is paying tuition -- then the analogy should be more along the lines of a business not giving adequate value of service. I actually used a similar argument in college, when complaining to the head of the department against a particular professor. I told him, "I'm paying a great deal of money to come here." [Unlike most of the free-ride students, I was paying my own way.] "I expect a certain quality of service in return, and I'm not getting it with the agenda of this teacher." As you can imagine, it was as if I was speaking Martian to him.
Interesting.
The idea is cooperation not confrontation and that cooperation is more important than a competition of ideas.
This is awful, not true education, but socialist in it's attempt to create the masses.
If they forced him to eat it...
Public schools are the government. They are not the same as South Park, which obviously one is free to criticize for content without necessarily calling for censorship. The issue of homosexual activity is complicated and in a free society people have the right to differing opinions, including the opinion that it is immoral. The government has no business imposing the liberal moral and religious beliefs on the morality of homosexuality through the public schools and prohibiting the free expression of traditional moral beliefs. If anything, that is the government's establishing a liberal religion.
-- Amendment One, United States Constitution
You hear constantly about the "establishment clause" of the First Amendment. It's time we started hearing more about the "Free Exercise Clause." It is just as unconstitutional to restrict religious freedom as it is to impose it.
Nothing is over until WE decide it is.
>>"Christians," he said, "are going to have to take a stand for the right to be Christian."<<
Christ Himself warned us that we would be hated by all nations because of His name. Christians have faced persecution MUCH greater than this in centuries past - this is nothing new.
Good thing our kingdom, our home, and our love and devotion are not to be centered on this world. I personally could care less what laws are passed - God is above all of them.
He is sovereign, and we fight a defeated enemy. Be of good cheer!
"Personally, I think a college (or a business) should be able to set their own rules for speech."
Well, when they stop accepting all that tax-payer money, maybe they can but until then, I think college campuses should not infringe on people's rights. They can chant "Death to Israel" all day long but let someone speak out against gaydom and THEY are silenced. Messed up world.
"What next KKK going in and saying that they should be able to say different stuff to folks."
Ironically, they already have that right and express their free speech all the time.
That said, your comparison of Christianity to the KKK is pretty disgusting.
That said, your comparison of Christianity to the KKK is pretty disgusting.
Take a chill pill or something. I was not comparing at all and I don't appreciate you insinuating that. Your insinuations and outlandish exaggerations are disgusting.
"So according to your logic, if a school cafeteria serves pepperoni pizza, a orthodox Jew has the right to sue the school for violating his rights?"
Yes, if he is forced to eat it.
Presumably he'd be bringing his lunch; if he's really Orthodox, he should not be eating anything from a non-kosher kitchen.
How can you go into court and say I want to hate these people and make fun of them?
Where did that message come from?
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