She Wanted The Right To Express Her Disgust In Counseling Sessions. Judge Says Not So Fast.
Judge upholds Augusta State University’s requirement that a graduate student read material about counseling gays and increase her exposure to that community after she objected to counseling homosexual clients was “academically legitimate,” a federal court judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge Randal Hall’s decision enables university officials to expel Jennifer Keeton if she does not follow the remediation plan, which professors designed to “address issues of multicultural competence and develop understanding and empathy.”
Hall said the case is not about “pitting Christianity against homosexuality,” but rather the constitutionality of the school’s requirement.
Professors asked Keeton to complete the remediation plan after she said she opposed homosexuality and would tell gay clients “their behavior is morally wrong and then help the client change that behavior,” according to an affidavit filed in the case.