California Woman Suing School For Expelling Her “Upon Learning Of Her Same-Sex Marriage”

So I’m just going to preface this with a couple of things.

1. I find it of no surprise that this happened in California. They can barely find their own a** with a map and a compass.
2. If you can’t abide by the rules of the school for which you are attending, maybe go to a different school.

“Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California has now been slapped with a lawsuit for allegedly expelling a 53-year-old graduate student upon learning of her same-sex marriage.”

Joanna Maxon had been attending this school for about three years, working towards a masters of arts in theology.

“Fuller Theological Seminary, however, maintains that, as a Christian institution, the school informs all students and faculty of explicit guidelines and standards of conduct for them to abide by when applying to attend.”

So now we have the rights of religious institutions battling with civil rights. However, the school is very clear about their expectations, for which, upon applying, a student must agree to prior to attending.

“The ethical standards of Fuller Theological Seminary are guided by an understanding of Scripture and a commitment to its authority regarding all matters of Christian faith and living,” reads Fuller’s Community Standards page. “The seminary community also desires to honor and respect the moral tradition of the churches who entrust students to us for education. These moral standards encompass every area of life, but prevailing confusion about specific areas leads the community to speak clearly about them. Students receiving training in a discipline for which there are professional ethical standards are subject to those as well.”

I’m certainly interested to see what the Superior Court comes up with. Quite frankly, if you expect your way of living to be fully accepted by everyone, then you need to have the mutual respect with those who disagree to pursue those beliefs accordingly. Freedom of belief goes both ways, not just the one that appeals to you.

Much like the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. case back in 2014 – Hobby Lobby organized their business in accordance with Christian principles which happened to include the belief that contraception is immoral. Well, under the Affordable Care Act (or, as I like to call it, Absolute Crap Act), employment-based health care plans must provide preventative care. Exemptions are only available for non-profit institutions, where Hobby Lobby is for-profit. However, the ruling held that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 allowed for-profit companies to deny employees health coverage based on religious objections of the business owners. Furthermore, this is due the lack of meaningful difference between non-profit and for-profit in this matter.

This lady could’ve easily gone to a different school, just as Burwell could have obtained contraceptives from a different provider. Easy as that.