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365Gay.com
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Judge:
Private School Not Covered
By Calif.
Gay Rights Law
From the
Web, January 21, 2008f
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Riverside, California -- A
Riverside County Superior Court judge has dismissed a civil rights case brought
by two teenage girls who were expelled from a private Lutheran high school
because they were suspected of being lesbians.
Judge Gloria Trask ruled that was no legal basis for the claim that the school
falls under the California civil-rights law that prohibits LGBT discrimination.
John McKay, the attorney for the school, had argued that the school should be
exempt because it is run by a religious institution and does not accept state
funding.
"You can't infringe upon the basic rights of a religious group and their right
of association by forcing them to accept people who don't believe in their
values," McKay told the Press-Enterprise.
McKay said it would be inconsistent for the school to teach that homosexuality
is a sin while allowing the two girls to be students.
It is expected the case will be appealed.
The lawsuit alleged that in 2005 the school's principal, Gregory Bork, called
the girls into his office and grilled them on their sexual orientation and
"coerced" one girl to say she loved the other one.
The next day, the suit said, Bork told the girls' parents they could not stay at
the school with "those feelings." In a Sept. 12, 2005 letter to the
parents, Bork acknowledged officials had seen no physical contact between the
girls but said their friendship was "uncharacteristic of normal girl
relationships and more characteristic of a lesbian one."
The girls' attorney argued that 142-student school in Wildomar was bound to
comply with state civil rights laws because it functions as a business by
collecting tuition.
The school is owned by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, the nation's
third-largest Lutheran church body. The California Lutheran High School
Association, comprising three dozen churches and religious schools, operates the
campus.
Conservative Christian groups also are fighting a California law tightening
protections for students from discrimination, harassment and bullying in
publicly-funded schools.
The Student Civil Rights Act, passed and signed into law by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger last year, mandates that teachers and school administrators fully
understand their responsibilities to protect LGBT youth.
Various California laws have prohibited discrimination in public education on
the basis of sexual orientation, gender, religion, race, disability and gender
for a number of years.
But in some instances school administrators have been unclear about all the laws
and what they need to do to fight bullying. The Student Civil Rights Act
updated the existing Education Code to bring all the discrimination laws under
one section.
Opponents of the law have claimed it will force schools to "promote
homosexuality" and to "persecute Christians who oppose homosexuality".
Opponents are suing the state to have the law declared unconstitutional.
Attorney General Ed. Brown earlier this month filed a motion to dismiss the
suit.
On Friday Equality California and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network filed an
amicus brief supporting Brown’s motion. The brief argues that the
complaint has no legal merit.
A conservative Christian group attempted to muster support for a voter repeal
effort,
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