Score one for the “religious freedom” fighters. A Christian university in Tennessee was just granted special permission from the federal government to ban students who are gay, as well as unwed mothers, pregnant women and women who’ve had an abortion.
Related: But A Homosexual Student Group Would Violate Belmont University’s Christian Values
Carson-Newman University is a Baptist college located in Jefferson City, TN. In May, Dr. Randall O’Brien, the school’s president, sent a letter to the federal government requesting exemption from Title IX, which prohibits colleges from discriminating against students for any reason.
Well, much to O’Brien’s delight, the government just approved his request.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
So what does this mean exactly? Put simply, your tax dollars are now being used to enable discrimination at Carson-Newman University.
The school’s official code of conduct now states:
Persons who choose to become a part of the Carson-Newman family are expected to embrace moral, ethical, and biblical values on and off campus. In the area of sexuality, lifestyles consistent with biblical teaching are expected. Specifically stated, sexual intimacy is to be expressed exclusively inside the marriage covenant which shall be between a man and a woman. Our Christian values serve the best interests of all within the Carson-Newman family.
Students who don’t adhere to these totalitarian rules risk being stripped of their financial aid and/or being expelled from the university.
O’Brien told his local TV news station that discriminating against LGBTQ students and women “further make us a Christian school” and “strengthen our First Amendment rights.”
“This is who we are, our religious principles,” he said. “In a changing world we want to reaffirm who we are and intend to be.”
Related: Federal Government Grants Christian Colleges Right To Expel Transgender Students
Scott McIntosh
Only in the USA…….
Brian JC Kneeland
They should not be allowed any federal money – including student loans!
Paul Matwiow
Probably the same folks will vote for Trump
Mack
They shouldn’t receive any Federal money whatsoever. But try to tell that to the ones who wrote the laws who is in the Churches pockets. But the question begs to ask is why would any LGBTQ want to go to ANY COLLEGE that doesn’t want them? This is the question I ask every time there is a problem with religious college-especially the Catholic ones.
Gingerann Beach
Not cool
cantioy87
Why the actual hell should the government sponsor this kind of school?
Mack, I recently went to a catholic university because it has the best grad program for my professional interest in the tri-state area. Not saying people would have a similar case here, but we sometimes have to deal with bigots to get a leg up. The school I went to doesn’t discriminate against students, and I don’t think it gets government subsidies. An older professor made a reprehensible comment about not understanding how any gays could attend the school and expect access to an LGBT club (because they should *know* it’s a catholic school). As a note, the school does have an LGBT club.
Timothy Warner
Dreadful Christian People.
scotty
the usa should have done what northern ireland did; revoke all religious exemptions.
an excuse to be bigots is no excuse for bigotry. fucking dumbasses in congress
Rick Dennis
Disappointed! I’m a 1977 grad and a gay Christian
Douglas Schlitz
Why is a religious based school receiving federal money to start with ? WTF !
bobbyjoe
Yeah, I used to live in Knoxville, which is right near Carson-Newman, I’ve known several people who went to Carson-Newman, and let me tell you that line about “sexual intimacy is to be expressed exclusively inside the marriage covenant” when it comes to Carson-Newman students is utterly hilarious. The old saying is “if you live near a Baptist College that bans alcohol*, gays, and pre-marital sex, lock up your booze, your sons, and your daughters.”
* (and yes, Carson-Newman banned alcohol, or at least used to; I’m just guessing, but I bet they still do).
aliengod
Finally the Federal Government get’s something right. Freedom of speech and religion is being honored. However, not a single tax dollar should be given to this school.
trelin
@Paul Matwiow: As much as I don’t like Trump and think he’s only out for the attention, Trump has never been completely homophobic unlike the other GOP candidates. Trump knows Gay=$$$$$.
GG
Who was it that approved this request?? If this isn’t “reconsidered” as soon as possible, within a short period of time virtually all religious-affiliated institutions of higher learning — of which there are between 900-1000 — will ask for exemptions. Next, it won’t be limited to institutions of learning. And, after that, it won’t even be necessary to base discrimination on ‘religion.’
This needs to be addressed now.
youarekiddingme
@aliengod: The government has NEVER banned freedom of speech or religion. What are you talking about?
youarekiddingme
@youarekiddingme: Excuse me…Never say never…because there are cases (as in the military free speech is not allowed), but the government does not ban free speech or religion…Where do you get that from?
1EqualityUSA
trelin, Trump would line the Supreme Court with nightmares.
1EqualityUSA
We really do need to cut off funds from all churches. Why should our tax dollars go towards funding hate. Sometime before the end of my time is done on this round orb, I’d like to see government get out of the religious business. Pastor Semen Latte is openly endorsing Trump. That is wrong.
Giancarlo85
@aliengod: What an idiotic remark. The government never banned freedom of religion. Your stupidity just keeps increasing and increasing.
Sluggo2007
Why is this news? It’s a Baptist college in Tennessee for God’s sake! It’s a given! Below the Mason-Dixon line, religious means “hateful.”
Realitycheck
@aliengod: Yes the school should not get one dollar, freedom of expressing one opinion doesn’t equate acting upon it.
@Sluggo2007: But who gave the school that exemption? I doubt the federal government would allow that, it must have been a local fed court,I have no doubt the ruling would be reversed if challenged.
Bill Perdue
The school should be secularized (without compensation) and it’s former administrators jailed for fomenting violence – hate crimes flow inevitably form hate speech.
Josh447
One more nail in the coffin called religion. Could there be a better way to destroy mass fictional delusion than priests fucking little boys while barring gays, a natural part of the human race, from human rights? I think not.
BJ McFrisky
Not sure where the author got his “facts,” but Title IX isn’t about “discriminating against students for any reason”—it’s about keeping the playing field level in college sports by insisting there be an equal number of female sports teams as male, else the male teams get nixed. Because women think they’re the physical peers of men, or something.
Does Mr. Gremore not understand that we plebian readers have a little tool called the Internet?
BJ McFrisky
@Josh447: Agreed about religion. Those boy-fucking Muslims who believe in killing gays will be totally eradicated once the Donald becomes our next Commander in Cool.
Giancarlo85
@BJ McFrisky: Dream on! Donald isn’t getting anywhere near the White House. Hillary can give him a tour after she gets inaugurated though. Donald is an ISIL propaganda tool. A mass majority of Americans don’t trust him. That is a very bad omen for any chance he has. Hillary will win in a landslide.
Masc Pride
Why would any gay person want to go there in the first place?
DarkZephyr
I wouldn’t want to go to such a p.o.s school anyway.
Maude
@Giancarlo85:
hillary Wont get elected because she will be indited by the FBI before the next election.
Even the threat of an indictment will destroy her ambitions.
But take heart, Joe Biden will be drafted at the Dem Convention.
….and like it, or not, that’s the plan.
It will be a Biden v Cruz contest.
1EqualityUSA
Maude, keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night.
Giancarlo85
@Maude: You sir are completely clueless. You don’t know anything about the legal system. The FBI doesn’t indict anyone. That is up to a grand jury. Hillary has committed no wrong doing so your claim is empty. Biden isn’t going to be drafted… so yet another empty stupid claim. Clueless answer. That’s the plan huh? According to whom? Your own stupid fantasies about Ted Cruz winning? Must be nice being so delusional.
Transiteer
An obvious wrong decision. Equality before the Law trumps Religious persecutions. The Judge erred.
galatians328
@Transiteer: NOT a decision in any court. Please read with your mind and not just your bias.
galatians328
@Scott McIntosh: Actually, most colleges and universities around the world have statements of accepted and unacceptable student conduct. For example – acceptable: honesty, fair play, etc … unacceptable: cheating, stealing, etc
galatians328
@Brian JC Kneeland: WHY? They have not been accused of discriminating in a particular case. They have merely published a clearly stated policy of accepted and unacceptable student conduct. A gay or lesbian student CAN apply and CAN attend. But they would be counter the policy if they get married to same-sex partner while a student.
galatians328
@Paul Matwiow: PARDON, but there are plenty of rich, selfish queers planning to vote for Trump. And there are plenty of anti-Muslim queers planning to vote for Trump or Cruz (bet there is plenty of pro-Israel gay money flowing to them! But you wouldn’t expect Queerty to do that research would you?)
galatians328
@Mack: Selfish, limited-minded people can’t imagine that a poor kid from rural Tennessee, who got a scholarship to attend this college, would go, to improve her/his life and to be better able to support and care for their family. URBAN, SELFISH gays think they have such BIG BRAINS (and of course they blog about their BIG C***S) but they can’t imagine the simple truths of the poor, struggling, and laboring-income people of the country, the rural people of the country, who have the simple values of love for their families and love for their communities. Urban gay communities are spreading so much disease (sexual disease and substance abuse disease and mental illness disease and greed disease) that rural, small town gays may be the best hope of a healthy lgbtq community – ACTUALLY HEALTHY (definition: happy throughout a long life in a healthy community). (oh, and btw, there are some REALLY BIG BRAINS and REALLY BIG C++++S out in rural America).
galatians328
@scotty: Can you read? Please read the Constitution. The US Constitution privileges free exercise of religion while also restraining government endorsement of any religion. We do not live in the UK.
galatians328
@Timothy Warner: What about the Muslim-child rapists/murderers in Syria? What about the Muslim countries that behead, flog, imprison gays? What about the Israeli government that purports to welcome gay tourism but segregates gay Israelis – who live in Palestinian communities of the West Bank?
galatians328
@Rick Dennis: Make your voice heard THERE. ALUMS at most schools are HEARD.
galatians328
@bobbyjoe: EXACTLY. We hear all the time about spreading sexually transmitted disease at Liberty University.
Giancarlo85
@galatians328: What a monstrous troll. For one, they are discriminating and taking federal money at the same time.
@galatians328: You apparently can’t read the Constitution yourself. The Constitution says the US government cannot endorse religion. This college is taking public money (tax payer money). Get a clue.
@galatians328: What a self righteous douche. I was working class in a city for a long time, but even I have the common sense of not going to a college like this one.
“that rural, small town gays may be the best hope of a healthy lgbtq community – ACTUALLY HEALTHY ”
I’m calling BS on this one.
Giancarlo85
@galatians328: Many people choose to live in cities because that is where jobs are at. I recently landed a major job change (and upgrade) and that was only made possible by living in a city. Better salaries, better living standards and better amenities are all part of living in a city. Yes, cities have major drawbacks too and negatives (such as crime and pollution)… but they are significantly better than living in rural areas (at least in my opinion).
youarekiddingme
@galatians328: Have you bothered to read what title IX says? Here you go: “On June 23, 1972, the President signed Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. §1681 et seq., into law. Title IX is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity.”
Yes these idiots DO receive title IX Federal Funding (just FYI). Yes they did get an “exemption.” Now they can descriminate (they hope) against gays, unwed mothers, pregnant women and a whole host of others. Exciting news huh?
As to your post to Timothy Warner (because he dared say “Dreadful Christian People)…You can bitch all you want about Muslims killing-r@ping, Israelis (who btw have had gays in the military for years before the US) and Palestine (now there’s a nice “hot bed” to bring up huh…only been at war for thousands of years).
Your dear, sweet christians are some of the biggest murderers in history. Have you read the old testament? Just filled with stories of r@pe, inc@st, child abuse and murder. Keep your sanctimonious, holier than thou attitude to yourself huh? I think we have enough horrors in this country to keep us busy for quite some time before running over to some foreing land (again and creating another ISIS).
I think that about covers all the crap you posted.
youarekiddingme
@galatians328 Your reply to Mack was incredibly stupid. Talk about small brain… What is your obsession with C@cks anyway? He surely never brought it up and you keep going back to the issue. Your idea of “rural” gays being this savior of the LGBTQ community…where does that come from? Have you looked at a census report lately? Do you know the percentage of the population (in general) that live in rural areas now? Do you know what percentage of that small number are gay? Now you’re saying how they have such a HUGE impact…Come now. The majority of the population live where? SUBURBAN, METROPOLITAN (the suburbs) areas…not big cities. Don’t make your stupid generalizations about c@ck size or brains or anything else based on where a person lives without scientific evidence (which there is none).
You are an uneducated, cold-hearted, simpleton if you think (blame) people with mental illnes as having a “disease.” Are you fucking serious with that ridiculous statement? What doctor told you that? “Psychiatric disorders are not medical diseases. There are no lab tests, brain scans, X-rays or chemical imbalance tests that can verify any mental disorder is a physical condition.” (Citizens Commision on Human Rights)
Greed disease, sexual disease? Looked these up…couldn’t find them. Please define. Do you have an alternate screen alias?
Giancarlo85
@youarekiddingme: Very few people live in rural areas in developed countries.
Big cities, Metropolitian Areas (like GREATER LOS ANGELES) and Suburbian areas is where most people live indeed.
http://www.icip.iastate.edu/tables/population/urban-pct-states
By 2010, 80.7% live in areas considered “urban” (this includes big cities, metro areas, and suburbs).
In California that number is an astounding 95%.
Rural areas and small towns suffer from high unemployment rates and lack of economic opportunity. That’s why people don’t live there anymore.
And yeah, don’t bother with the simpleton. He’s uneducated and made a ton of stupid remarks.