FollowUp 1: Will gay students be 'collateral damage' to the cause of 'religious liberty?'

There is an answer to that question.  The answer is no.  The Chronicle of Higher Education today reports that Ms. Keeton lost her appeal.  She had been suing to be allowed to complete a program on counseling without doing the complete program, as counseling homosexuals would interfere with her religious liberty.  She lost the first round in August 2010.  This was the appeal.

The court noted that the requirements of the counseling program—needed for its continued accreditation and compliance with the American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics—are similar to the rules for judges, who must apply laws even if they consider them erroneous.

“In seeking to evade the curricular requirement that she not impose her moral values on clients,” the court said, “Keeton is looking for preferential, not equal, treatment.”

This is very good news for people who may have been turned away from a counselor when they needed her most.  This is also good news in that it is an indirect repudiation of the Ku Klux Klan.  This is an indirect repudiation of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality.  Finally, it is a direct repudiation of the Alliance Defense Fund, who defended Ms. Keeton in court and are a legal arm for the anti-equality movement.

No one objects to Ms. Keeton praying to whatever God she chooses, when she chooses to do so, or how she chooses to do so (as long as no one is injured in the process).  On the job, one must do as the employer specifies.  Certain religious exemptions make sense, but not those that prevent the employee from doing the job.  The same is true for a student seeking to complete a degree or certification program.

Thanks to Joe My God for the heads up.

30 November 2011, Guest Post at Pedantic Political Ponderings.