Calif. Court OKs
Teens' Suit Vs. School
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, June 30, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO -- Two teens
expelled from a Lutheran high school because of an alleged lesbian relationship
can sue the school even though it is a private religious institution, the
California Supreme Court ruled.
The court refused to consider California Lutheran High School's appeal of a
lower court's ruling that the 16-year-old girls' civil rights may have been
violated when they were kicked out in September.
In declining Wednesday to take up the case, justices cleared the students'
lawsuit to go to trial. The suit filed in Riverside County Superior Court
seeks readmission for the students, unspecified damages and an injunction
barring the Wildomar school from excluding gays and lesbians.
California Lutheran, which has 142 students, argued that as a religious
organization it had a First Amendment right to exclude gay students and that it
was not subject to a state law prohibiting businesses from discriminating on the
basis of sexual orientation.
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which owns the school, considers
homosexuality a sin.
The names of the girls, both juniors, were withheld in court documents.
Their attorneys would not say whether they are lesbians.
The lawsuit alleges that principal Gregory Bork acted on thirdhand information
when he questioned the girls about their relationship. Bork then wrote the
students' parents, saying the teens' behavior violated school rules against
conduct that is ''contrary to Christian decency.''
John McKay, a lawyer for California Lutheran, said he would gather more facts to
bolster the high school's arguments before again attempting to have the lawsuit
dismissed.
''The question here is whether the (state's) discrimination provisions trump the
First Amendment of the Constitution, and I don't think they can,'' he said.
''Our country was formed on religious freedom.''
McKay said the girls were not expelled because they were suspected of being
lesbians, but because ''they engaged in conduct that was observed and
reported.''
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