Posted on 08/19/2011 12:19:52 PM PDT by NYer
MOUNT DORA, FL, August 18, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Mount Dora High School has removed a veteran social-studies teacher Gerald (Jerry) Buell from his classroom for Facebook comments critical of homosexual marriage. Christopher Patton, Communications Officer for Lake County Schools told LifeSiteNews that Buell was moved to administrative duties pending the results of an investigation into a suspected code of ethics violation.
On his personal Facebook account, outside of school time, Buell posted a reaction to New Yorks passage of homosexual marriage saying he almost threw up. He also referred to homosexual unions as sinful and referred to it as part of a cesspool of behaviors in remarks quoted by the Sentinel.
While LifeSiteNews was unable to reach Buell at his home, his staff page on the schools website which has been deleted at the time of this publication revealed him to be a devout Christian. First and foremost, I am a man of God, he wrote. I try to teach and lead my students as if Lake Co. Schools had hired Jesus Christ himself. That doesn’t mean I give a sermon and serve communion each day…what it means is I try my very best to teach and serve and minister to my students as a teacher led by and connected to the Creator of the Universe.
In answer to castigations of being hateful, Buell told the Orlando Sentinel, “I’ve had kids that I’ve known that have been homosexuals. They know that I don’t hate them. I love them.”
“It wasn’t out of hatred,” he added. “It was about the way I interpret things.”
Patton told LSN that a complaint email was received Tuesday with quotes given to the Sentinel. Buell, he said, has thus been removed from his classroom and reassigned to the district office to undertake other non-teaching duties while the board investigates if his actions constitute a breach of the code of ethics.
A very similar case to that of Buells is the Canadian case of teacher Chris Kempling who in 1995 was suspended from teaching for writing letters to a local newspaper explaining Christian belief on homosexuality. Kempling fought the charges all the way to the Canadian Supreme Court, where his appeal was denied - leaving him with hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
Buells is not new to the United States. Last summer a Catholic professor was fired from the University of Illinois for sending an email to students in a course on Catholic doctrine, explaining how homosexual activity is contrary to the natural moral law.
More recently Canadian television sportscaster Damian Goddard was fired for Tweeting his support of Burlington hockey agent Todd Reynolds, who created a stir when he criticized New York Rangers hockey star Sean Avery for shooting a TV ad backing gay marriage. I completely and wholeheartedly support Todd Reynolds and his support for the traditional and TRUE meaning of marriage, Goddard tweeted.
Contact Information:
Principal Pam Chateauneuf
ChateauneufP@lake.k12.fl.us
Debbie Stivender, Lake County School Board
Stivenderd@lake.k12.fl.us
Ping!
>homosexual marriage saying he almost threw up. He also referred to homosexual unions as sinful and referred to it as part of a cesspool of behaviors in remarks quoted by the Sentinel.<
What’s the problem again?
'Progressives' believe in tolerance for ALL viewpoints ... as long as it matches their own.
This isn’t the United States of America anymore Skippy. That Freedom of Speech bull**** is outta here!
This has already been posted in another thread. None the less, if you wish to send an email and let the school know what you think of this just google Lake County Florida Public Schools.
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Support him on Facebook.
This is an open-and-shut case of Viewpoint discrimination. The ACL&J will jump at filing this lawsuit.
It’s really sad that folks can’t express themselves (1st Amendment rights!) privately. The internet ISN’T private - no matter what your settings say. There is RISK with expressing yourself on these social websites and you MUST know who your friends are.
Prior to FACEBOOK and MYSPACE, this type of stuff was said verbally amongst friends or written in a journal that nobody saw. AND, generally, there were NO CONSEQUENCES!
Suppression of an opinion or political point of view always leads to violence.
He was fired for daring to express an opinion that was not politically correct.
Even the lowest slave has the right to agree with his master.
And my grandson is entering college in NY State (SUNY Fredonia) tomorrow with hopes of becoming a music teacher. Why?
Contact Information:
Principal Pam Chateauneuf
ChateauneufP@lake.k12.fl.us
Debbie Stivender, Lake County School Board
Stivenderd@lake.k12.fl.us
Even if the teachers expressed himself in a letter to the editor, that is still his right according to the Constitution. The homosexual agenda is about destroying our freedoms of speech, religion and association.
Excuse me but didnt the voters of Florida ratify an constitutional amendment in 2008 specifying that marriage is only between one man and one woman? How can he be fired for expressing a political viewpoint that favors the existing constitutional law in Florida? I think the school district should be expecting to be served by a lawsuit fairly soon.
Not only that, but Florida has a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only being between one man and one woman.
Wow...they removed him faster than any of their teachers who got caught banging little boys...not that it’s a surprise:
My first thought is that if he holds himself out as a representative of THAT school on Facebook, then he has a responsibility not to contradict the sickness of the liberals that run the school. I know that I would never say anything bad in a public forum about my company, even if true (unless it clearly involved law-breaking). For example, my company is on the same-sex marriage bandwagon - but even so, I still would not discuss their particular policy on this site. If I don’t like it enough, I can leave.
On the other hand, if he doesn’t mention the school, but only that he was a “teacher” (somewhere), and wasn’t “friends” with any of the kids, then he’s got a KILLER lawsuit.
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