Grad student expelled after refusing to counsel gay married couples

Spero News ^ | MAY 3, 2016 | BY MARTIN BARILLAS

[Hostage]

Andrew Cash, a former student at Missouri State University, is suing the institution over his dismissal from a graduate program in counseling. Cash has retained counsel from the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm, and has filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Governors of Missouri State University. Cash and his lawyers contend that he was dismissed from the university’s Master’s program in counseling because he expressed concern over counseling same-sex couples due to his religious convictions. In an exclusive interview, Spero News interviewed attorney Tom Olp of the Thomas More Society, which is representing Cash.

According to Olp, Cash claims that he was unable to complete his counseling curriculum and is consequently prevented from working as a counselor. Moreover, his dismissal has caused him emotional suffering. Cash wants to be reinstated in the program, and that safeguards put in place so that he can successfully earn his degree.

Olp said in a statement that the university denied an educational opportunity to Cash who expressed, in an academic setting, “sincerely-held religious beliefs which his advisor deemed hostile to her own and therefore unacceptable. An educator should not permit her own ideology and agenda to ruin the educational opportunities of her students.” Cash contends that the university dismissed him on the basis of his religious beliefs, thus violating his freedom of expression.

[Pontiac]

Any Educational institution that accepts Federal funding should not be able to deny any student on the grounds of religious convictions.

If they persist in this unconstitutional action they should lose their Federal Funding.