Thursday, June 01, 2006

KENTUCKY BAPTIST SCHOOL EXPELS STUDENT FOR GAY LIFESTYLE:

Homosexuality controversy lands another student outside the halls of learning. Jason Johnson, a sophomore at University of the Cumberlands got kicked out of school for being caught out of the closet.The 20-year-old theater major was expelled on April 6 because of his sexual orientation, as well as comments about his boyfriend that were shared on his MySpace.com blog.

The school’s spokesperson Larry Cockrum released a statement from Cumberlands President Jim Taylor saying the school had “followed our policies and procedures in keeping with our traditional denominational beliefs.” Homosexuality is not in alignment with the Christian based value system the Baptist college in Williamsburg, KY upholds.

However, Senior Jennifer Roberts told the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper, “I would consider Jason a Christian because so many of his values are Christian…. He embodies everything a friend should be. A lot of people are suffering because he is not here.” Cockrum maintained in the statement that, “We are different by design and are non-apologetic about our Christian beliefs.”

Because Johnson has retained an attorney, the school released an official statement on April 10 saying it would no longer comment on the decision. More openly gay collegians are experiencing scarlet-letter-styled scrutiny as evidence of what some consider their “sin” becomes transparent. According to Soulforce, a gay rights group, over 200 colleges and universities actively ban homosexual students.

Some schools with strict discipline toward gay students are John Brown University, in Siloam Springs, ARK, Baylor University in Dallas, TX, Mercer University in Atlanta, GA and North Central University in Minneapolis, MN.The Associated Press reports that the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, a pro-homosexual group, is appealing to Governor Ernie Fletcher to veto $11 million that state lawmakers have approved for scholarships and a pharmacy school at U of C. ‘Draw the line’ or ‘Bridge the Gap’As the temperature rises on gay rights issues, is America turning into a gay vs. straight society?

The Kentucky incident is just a snapshot of what is taking place in our society: gays are fighting for equal rights. In recent news the same sex marriage and domestic partnership arguments have hogged headlines with victories for both advocates and anti-gays.The erupting controversy lies in multi-faceted opinions from various religious, public and private institutions. Since the murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, the University of Wyoming student who was killed in 1998 for being gay, there have been countless debates about treatment of homosexuals based in moral ideology and legal rights, some in the form of tolerance and some pertaining to acceptance.

Taking the “separate but equal” approach gay supporters have “drawn the line” by establishing all-gay schools and churches, for example. Yet, churches like the United Methodists church are attempting to “bridge the gap” in ad campaigns that embrace diversity. There is no simple solution for managing an imperfect society, yet tolerance seems to fall somewhere between “the line” and “the gap.” -- http://www.atlgospel.com/news/index.html

Further news on this story at: http://www.abpnews.com/944.article

http://www.heartstrong.org/HeartStrong/JasonJohnson.html

1 comment:

Clay said...

wow - i cant believe stuff like this can actually happen