School Retreats from Pro-Homosexual Policy After Student Christian Club Threatens Lawsuit
Mon, Oct 14, 2002
ANN ARBOR, MI – Threats of legal action ended a controversy that had been brewing over the past year at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, between gay rights activists and the Pioneers for Christ student club. Gay activists had demanded that the School Board take action against the Christian club because the club refused to adopt the school’s “non-discrimination” policy as part of its mission statement.
According to the Thomas More Law Center, which represented the Christian Club, the policy would have unconstitutionally prohibited members from expressing their Christian view against homosexuality. Under the threat of litigation, the Ann Arbor School Board voted last week to change its policy.
Robert Muise, associate counsel with the Thomas More Law Center, appearing at a school board meeting earlier in the year warned, “Pioneers for Christ is being singled out simply because its members do not support the agenda of gay rights activists. Presently at Pioneer High School there are faculty members and administrators who desire to promote their personal political agenda at the expense of students’ constitutional and federal statutory rights….the U.S. Constitution and the Equal Access Act . . . protect Pioneers for Christ from such blatant and discriminatory attacks.”
According to reports, attorneys for the School Board agreed that the policy was not legally defensible, so the Board changed it.
In a separate but related controversy, during the so-called “Diversity Week” held at Pioneer High School last March, students were not allowed to express their Christian view of homosexuality during a panel discussion that the school sponsored for the purpose of discussing religion and homosexuality. The Gay Straight Alliance student club, with the support of school officials, monopolized this discussion by presenting only the view of several adults who claimed to be clergy of denominations that support the homosexual lifestyle. School officials prevented any other view to be expressed during this event, which occurred during the school day. This has resulted in a federal lawsuit, which was filed this past July by the Thomas More Law Center on behalf of Betsy Hansen and her mother, challenging the school’s actions. This lawsuit is distinct from the non-discrimination policy controversy and, according to Center attorneys, will continue.
According to Attorney Muise, “We are pleased that the School Board recognized that its so-called ‘non-discrimination’ policy was constitutionally suspect and that it threatened the rights of Christian students and others. We believe that our lawsuit against the School Board over the Pioneer High School ‘Diversity Week’ events, which is separate but related to the non-discrimination policy issue, will cast further light on the way that gay rights activists are improperly influencing the public school system.”
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes religious freedom, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. The Center provides its services without charge and is dependent upon individual donations, foundations and corporations for support. The Thomas More Law Center is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization. You may contact the Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.
Public High School Pushes Homosexual Agenda and Discriminates Against Christian Student During “Diversity Week” – Federal Lawsuit Filed
Wed, Jul 10, 2002
Ann Arbor, MI — A controversy over school-sponsored activities designed to promote the homosexual agenda and the school’s censorship of a Christian student’s speech critical of homosexual activity have resulted in a federal lawsuit. The Thomas More Law Center filed the civil rights lawsuit on behalf of the student, Betsy Hansen, and her mother against the Ann Arbor Public Schools and several of its administrators and faculty members who work at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Betsy and her mother are devout Roman Catholics who object to the school promoting activity that is contrary to their religious beliefs. Betsy graduated this past June from Pioneer High with the highest honors; she has a brother and a sister who will be attending Pioneer High School this Fall.
During Pioneer High’s “2002 Diversity Week,” held this past March, the school sponsored various events, including student speeches given at an all school assembly and panel discussions on various issues such as race, religion, and “Homosexuality and Religion.” Although Betsy was permitted to give a speech during the student assembly, she was required to submit her speech to school officials for their prior approval. School officials removed all references critical of homosexual activity.
Also during this week, certain school officials jointly agreed to prevent Betsy from expressing her Roman Catholic view on homosexuality at the “Homosexuality and Religion” panel. School officials claimed that Betsy’s religious view toward homosexuality was a “negative” message and would “water-down” the “positive” religious message that they wanted to convey; that is, that homosexual behavior and religion are compatible, and that homosexual behavior is not immoral or sinful.
In order to further achieve their purpose with this panel discussion, school officials selected and invited certain religious leaders and clergy members who would promote and endorse their pro-homosexual “religious” belief. School officials denied Betsy’s request to have panel members present who would express the Roman Catholic belief on homosexual activity. School officials also pre-screened questions for the panel members, selected the faculty advisor for the Gay Straight Alliance to act as “moderator,” prohibited “open” questions to panel members, and expressly prohibited the students from personally interacting with any panel member before, during, or after the panel discussion.
Moreover, to ensure that only a particular religious belief regarding homosexuality was presented during the student panel discussion on religion, which immediately followed the discussion on “Religion and Homosexuality,” school officials created written guidelines that prohibited, among other things, student panel members from making comments that “target” another person’s “sexual orientation.”
This federal civil rights lawsuit challenges these actions, alleging that school officials violated Betsy’s constitutional rights to freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, and the equal protection of the law. Moreover, the lawsuit alleges that school officials violated the Establishment Clause by impermissibly promoting and endorsing the religious belief that homosexual activity is compatible with religion, by conveying the impermissible message of disapproval of the Roman Catholic belief that homosexual activity is immoral and sinful, and by coercing students to accept and support the religious belief that homosexual activity is not immoral or sinful.
Betsy’s mother, Connie Hansen, is suing because, as a parent, she objects to the Ann Arbor school’s practice of promoting religious beliefs that conflict with her private religious beliefs, the religious beliefs of her children, and the religious beliefs of her family. The lawsuit alleges that Pioneer High School officials have interfered with Connie’s constitutional right to direct the religious education of her children.
According to Richard Thompson, Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, “The facts alleged in the Complaint clearly show that school officials at Pioneer High School are hostile to Betsy’s Roman Catholic belief that homosexual activity is immoral and sinful. In their zeal to promote the homosexual agenda during this so-called “Diversity Week,” school officials gave a powerful lesson of intolerance and bigotry toward traditional Christian beliefs. This is nothing short of hypocrisy and parents of Pioneer High School students need to know what is being disguised as education in the Ann Arbor Public school system.”
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through litigation, education, and related activities. The Center provides its services at no charge, and is dependent upon individual donations, foundations, and corporations for financial support. The IRS recognizes the Center as a 501(c)(3) organization and donations are tax deductible. You may contact the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit its website at www.thomasmore.org.
Transsexual Marriages Rejected In Kansas – Thomas More Law Center Defends Traditional Marriage
Tue, Mar 19, 2002
Ann Arbor, MI – The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday in favor of traditional marriages, holding that transsexual J’Noel Gardiner is a man under Kansas law and thus not entitled to share the proceeds in the estate of Marshall Gardiner.
J’Noel Gardiner, 40, married 85 year old Marshall Gardiner in 1998. Although J’Noel’s original birth certificate indicated he was a male, he began a series of medical procedures in 1991 that ultimately gave him the physical appearances of a female. Marshall Gardiner died intestate a year after their marriage leaving an approximate $2.5 million estate. The estate then became the subject of the legal dispute between J’Noel and the son of Marshall Gardiner from a previous marriage about whether J’Noel’s marriage to Marshall was valid.
The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed a “friend of the court” brief in the case maintaining that, because J’Noel Gardiner is a male, who appears through man-made means to be a female, he cannot validly marry another man under Kansas law. The court agreed, noting that despite the fact that J’Noel’s body was manipulated by physicians, “J’Noel does not fit the common meaning of female,” and “J’Noel remains a transsexual, and a male for purposes of marriage” under Kansas law.
The case represents a major victory for traditional marriage. The Kansas Supreme Court affirmed that the public policy of Kansas recognizes only “the traditional marriage between two parties who are of the opposite sex,” which is commonly understood to be a “biological man and a biological woman.” The court ruled that a post-operative male-to-female transsexual is not a woman under Kansas law and cannot validly marry another man.
“The ACLU and others, who supported the legal position of J’Noel in this case, have once again attempted to entice courts to assist in destroying the traditional family unit as we know it,” said Richard Thompson, Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center. “The Kansas Supreme Court wisely decided to uphold the will of the people, and affirm traditional marriage.”
The Thomas More Law Center is a national public interest law firm recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization. It provides its services without charge and is partially funded by the Ave Maria Foundation as well as other foundations, corporations, and individuals who support its mission of defending and promoting religious freedom, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. You may contact the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001, or visit its website at www.thomasmore.org.
Thomas More Law Center Applauds Nebraska Supreme Court’s Rejection of Gay Adoption
Wed, Mar 13, 2002
Ann Arbor, MI – The Nebraska Supreme Court has rejected the attempt by two lesbians to adopt a four-year old boy, after one of the women became pregnant through artificial insemination. The petition for adoption was brought by the ACLU in an obvious attempt to bypass Nebraska’s state constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2000 banning gay marriage. The ACLU Board will meet on March 16 to decide whether to ask the Court to reconsider their opinion.
The Thomas More Law Center, a national, public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan had joined the Nebraska Catholic Conference in filing a “friend of the court” brief in the case. The Law Center applauded the ruling with a word of caution. Rob Muise, associate counsel with the Law Center, explained, “The Court’s decision placed a roadblock in the way of the ACLU’s gay rights agenda. And while this is an important victory, it is doubtful that the ACLU and other promoters of the gay rights will cease their overt attacks on the traditional family.”
The Nebraska Supreme Court in an unsigned opinion with one dissent, affirmed a lower court decision holding that the boy could not be adopted because the mother had not relinquished her parental rights as required under state statute, leaving open the constitutional issue of whether gay couples are prohibited from adopting in general.
The Thomas More Law Center and the Nebraska Catholic Conference had argued in their brief that these same-sex partners “are attempting to achieve legal recognition of their view toward marriage, family, and sexual relationships by seeking a judicial decree that would legally create this unique ‘family.’ Such a result would be inconsistent with the history of the Nebraska adoption statutes, would create significant conflict with the Nebraska laws that apply to the legal relationships of parents and children, and would result in a dramatic shift in the social policy of this State.”
According to Robert Muise, “Both the constitution and statutory law of Nebraska overwhelmingly supports the time-honored family unit consisting of one male father and one female mother. Had the Court granted the adoption in this case, it would have created a new type of ‘family’ that Nebraska’s law simply does not and should not recognize.”
The Thomas More Law Center, a section 501(c)(3) organization, is a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Law Center defends and promotes religious freedom, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life through education, litigation, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. You may contact the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit its website at www.thomasmore.org.