Judge Rules Against Anti-Gay Georgia Student, Jennifer Keeton

Readers likely remember Jennifer Keeton (at left), the anti-gay Augusta State University student who sued the school earlier in the year claiming that the university had violated her First Amendment rights by forcing her to work with and take training to accept homosexuality in her professional endeavors in order to graduate from her counselor education program. Well, the Carrie Prejean wanna be martyr's case has gone down in flames and a judge has upheld the university's dismissal of Keeton from her counseling program. As I noted previously, if someone like Keeton is unable to separate her personal beliefs from the requirements of professional counseling, she and they need to find a different career. She represents yet another instance where a Christianist wants to be granted special rights not afforded to others. Here are highlights from the Augusta Chronicle:
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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.
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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."
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Hall said the case is not about "pitting Christianity against homosexuality," but rather the constitutionality of the school's requirement.
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In an Aug. 11 hearing, ASU professors testified that the plan was not a punishment for voicing her beliefs, but a tool to teach Keeton how to counsel clients while not imposing her views.
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"All three professors testified that they never told (Keeton) that she was required to change her religious beliefs in order to stay in the counseling program," Hall wrote.
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Hall said Keeton's unwillingness to adhere to the school's viewpoint-neutral code of ethics set by the American Counseling Association constitutes a refusal to complete the curriculum.