Christian University Granted Right To Ban Gays, Unmarried Women Who Have Sex

A Tennessee university has asked for and been granted the right to ignore a federal nondiscrimination law.

Imagine if you were gay and accepted to attend a well-regarded university, only to find out a year or two after enrolling that your school decided to ask the federal government for the right to be exempt from a federal law so it could ban gay people. Imagine if you were a woman in a relationship with a man, a relationship that includes sex, and you learned the college you attend decided to ask the federal government for the right to be exempt from a federal law so it could ban women who have had sex outside of marriage.

Welcome to the lives of some of the students at Tennessee’s Carson-Newman University.

Back in May, University President Dr. Randall O’Brien sent a letter to the U.S. Dept. of Education, asking for an exemption from Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex by “any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

That exemption, “a waiver that allows the school to ban gay students, unwed mothers, women who’ve had an abortion and even students who may be pregnant,” WVLT reports, was granted. Presumably, it would apply to faculty and other employees also.

So now, tax dollars are being used to enable discrimination at Carson-Newman, a private Southern Baptist University whose code of conduct in part 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.

Dr. O’Brien recently told local TV station WVLT he intends to ensure Carson-Newman can adhere to its religious principles.

“This is who we are our religious principles and in a changing world we want to reaffirm who we are and intend to be,” O’Brien said. He added that the school’s attorney “said it would further make us a Christian school.”

“I believe he felt it would strengthen our First Amendment rights,” O’Brien said.

 

This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of the University.

Image: Screenshot via WVLT
Hat tip: David Edwards at Raw Story