Judge: Money For Anti-Gay Baptist School Wrong

Some time ago I did one or more posts about the controversial appropriation of $11 million in state funding by the GOP controlled legislature in the State of Kentucky to the University of the Cumberlands, an anti-gay Baptist University. The question of the legality of the grant grew out of a 2006 incident in which Jason Johnson, 20, was expelled after posting his sexual orientation on a Web site. The dean's list student received all F's on his transcript when he was expelled. The grant was for a pharmistry school and was alleged to for the betterment of the state's health and welfare.

Fortunately, the court hearing the challenge saw through the pathetic ruse and the grant was ruled unconstitutional - something that should have been obvious to even the dullest of the GOP legislators from the get go. Sadly, the university was represented by a wingnut legal organization based in Virginia where we have more than out share of hate-filled Christianists. Once again, bigotry has a price when Christianist reach out their hand for public taxpayer derived funds. Here are some highlights from 365gay.com (http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/03/030608uni.htm):

(Frankfort, Kentucky) A judge ruled Thursday that Kentucky GOP lawmakers and former Gov. Ernie Fletcher violated the state constitution by appropriating $11 million in state funding to a Baptist university. The state had argued that the money, to be used to create a pharmacy school at the University of the Cumberlands, was for the betterment of the state's health and welfare and therefore constitutional. The LGBT rights group Kentucky Fairness Alliance filed a lawsuit along with advocates for the separation of church and state and the Jefferson County Teachers Association. Named as defendants were the university, Fletcher and a dozen Republican lawmakers. Kentucky Fairness Alliance executive director Christina Gilgor called the ruling a victory against state-subsidized discrimination.

Although the suit was filed by the Kentucky Fairness Alliance there was scant mention of the Johnson situation in legal arguments. Attorney David Tachau instead argued that the grant did not fall under the heading of "health and welfare" and was instead in support of education at a private, sectarian institution. That, said Tachau, makes it unconstitutional. In his argument he cited a 1983 ruling that said public money could not be used to buy textbooks for private schools. The university, represented by Timothy J. Tracey, of the Virginia-based Center for Law & Religious Freedom, argued that the legislature acted responsibly and legally by seeking to address the state's shortage of pharmacists.

The moral of the case is that if you want to discriminate againstother citizens based on what is basically a matter of religious belief, do not expect the public to have to fund your bigotry. Appropriating the grant was shameless even by GOP standards.