SCOTUS Rejects Appeal Of University Official Canned For Anti-Gay Op-Ed

Last December, the Sixth Federal Court of Appeals upheld the firing of former University of Toledo human resources director Crystal Dixon, who was canned in 2008 after an Ohio newspaper published her op-ed column in which she denounced LGBT rights and promoted the "ex-gay" movement. Dixon, long a martyr for anti-gay hate groups, was represented by the anti-gay Thomas More Center, who yesterday had their final appeal rejected by the US Supreme Court. The Thomas More Center has not yet reacted on their website.  Here's an excerpt from the column that started it all:

As a Black woman who happens to be an alumnus of the University of Toledo's Graduate School, an employee and business owner, I take great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are "civil rights victims." Here's why. I cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a Black woman. I am genetically and biologically a Black woman and very pleased to be so as my Creator intended. Daily, thousands of homosexuals make a life decision to leave the gay lifestyle evidenced by the growing population of PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex Gays) and Exodus International just to name a few. Frequently, the individuals report that the impetus to their change of heart and lifestyle was a transformative experience with God; a realization that their choice of same-sex practices wreaked havoc in their psychological and physical lives.

 (Tipped by JMG reader Kyle)

Federal Appeals Court Upholds Firing Of Anti-Gay College HR Director

The Sixth Federal Court of Appeals has upheld the firing of former University of Toledo human resources director Crystal Dixon, who was canned in 2008 after a local newspaper published her op-ed column in which she denounced LGBT rights and promoted the "ex-gay" movement.

In a ruling handed down on Monday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the administrator's column "contradicted the very policies she was charged with creating, promoting, and enforcing," and cannot be excused as merely a statement of her own views as a private citizen. The panel affirmed a lower court's decision to dismiss the administrator's lawsuit accusing the public university of violating her constitutional rights by firing her.

At the center of the case was an opinion essay that Crystal Dixon, who had been the university's interim associate vice president for human resources, published in the Toledo Free Press in April 2008. In it, she wrote that she takes "great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are 'civil-rights victims.'" She argued that she "cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a black woman" because she is biologically and genetically such "as my creator intended." But, she said, "daily, thousands of homosexuals make a life decision to leave the gay lifestyle" with the help of groups such as Exodus International, which claim to be able to help people overcome homosexual desires.

Since her termination, Dixon has become a martyr to the anti-gay movement, who will now doubtlessly resume listing her case among their examples of homofascism.

Quote Of The Day - Brian Brown

"The gay movement’s tactics smell more and more like Joe McCarthy than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Hounding people and going after their livelihoods, because they express a view held by numerous mainstream Christians is mean, intolerant, and unacceptable to most Americans. We call on Joe Solomonese, Evan Wolfson and other mainstream gay marriage groups to call off their dogs, renounce these tactics of intimidation and religious bigotry, and restore the face of their movement into something more resembling tolerance and fair play for all Americans." - NOM president Brian Brown, in a press release denouncing Equality Michigan, who is pressuring a local city to fire recently hired human resources executive Crystal Dixon based on her anti-gay past.

In 2008 Dixon lost her job as vice president of human resources with the University of Toledo after penning a viciously anti-gay opinion piece for a local newspaper. Dixon claimed that she was writing as a private citizen, even though she referenced the university in her column. Her case remains among the small handful continuously cited by anti-gay groups as evidence of escalating "homo-fascism."

Equality Michigan: "Jackson residents deserve someone who is qualified to serve as their human resources director. The job in question places Crystal Dixon as lead negotiator for contract agreements and will make her an influential voice in searches for department heads. She needs to be capable of providing equal opportunity and advocating for the interests of all Jackson residents. Her job history simply makes her unqualified to serve the entire Jackson community."

University Official Canned For Anti-Gay Column Is Now Suing The School

Back in May, the University of Toledo's head of human resources, Crystal Dixon, was fired from her job after she penned an anti-gay column in the Toledo Free Press which read in part:

As a Black woman who happens to be an alumnus of the University of Toledo's Graduate School, an employee and business owner, I take great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are "civil rights victims." Here's why. I cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a Black woman. I am genetically and biologically a Black woman and very pleased to be so as my Creator intended. Daily, thousands of homosexuals make a life decision to leave the gay lifestyle evidenced by the growing population of PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex Gays) and Exodus International just to name a few. Frequently, the individuals report that the impetus to their change of heart and lifestyle was a transformative experience with God; a realization that their choice of same-sex practices wreaked havoc in their psychological and physical lives.

Dixon is now suing the University of Toledo with the help of a Christianist law firm.

In response to the column, hundreds of people wrote letters calling her views disturbing while others were outraged Dixon was punished for speaking her mind. Conservative talk show hosts and members of her church rallied around Dixon after she was fired. "It comes down to whether you're speaking as an employee of the university or as a private citizen," said Brian Rooney, a spokesman for Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., which is representing Dixon. "If you're speaking as a private citizen, your speech is protected."

The university would have been within its rights to discipline her if she had stated she was a school administrator, Rooney said. The nonprofit Christian law firm says its mission includes "defending the traditional family and challenging special rights for homosexuals."

"Where is the so-called free expression of ideas and tolerance that universities so adamantly defend?" said Richard Thompson, president of the law center. Named as defendants in the lawsuit are University of Toledo President Lloyd Jacobs and William Logie, vice president for human resources. Jacobs responded to the column by writing his own piece in the weekly newspaper, saying that "her comments do not accord with the values of the University of Toledo."

In her column, Dixon did not identify herself as an employee of the university, but she did reference the school's policies. Her story is being widely circulated on the Christianist blogosphere as a prime example of the coming suppression of the free speech of Christians.

University Official Canned For Anti-Gay Column

On April 18th, University of Toledo vice president of human resources Crystal Dixon penned an opinion piece in the Toledo Free Press in which she said:

As a Black woman who happens to be an alumnus of the University of Toledo's Graduate School, an employee and business owner, I take great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are "civil rights victims." Here's why. I cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a Black woman. I am genetically and biologically a Black woman and very pleased to be so as my Creator intended. Daily, thousands of homosexuals make a life decision to leave the gay lifestyle evidenced by the growing population of PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex Gays) and Exodus International just to name a few. Frequently, the individuals report that the impetus to their change of heart and lifestyle was a transformative experience with God; a realization that their choice of same-sex practices wreaked havoc in their psychological and physical lives.

On Friday Dixon was fired from her job, much to the outcry of her supporters who claim that Dixon's right to free speech has been violated. Dixon claims that she was speaking as a private citizen, even though she referenced the school in her column.

A commenter on Pam's House Blend says:

I just watched Ms. Dixon on local television. Very interesting. She most certainly does NOT need education on lgbt issues. Ms. Dixon felt a "Divine Mandate" to write the column she wrote in the Toledo Free Press. She says she wrote it as a private citizen, in no way as a representative of the university. That certainly appears to be true.

She has worked in Human Resources for 23 years. She has hired both straight and gay people. The university could find no instance of her being prejudiced against glbt people on the job! That is significant. She has a good legal team and is suing on three bases: Freedom of speech, religious prejudice, and racial prejudice! Wish I could get a hold of that law suit ... should be fascinating reading.

She is receiving "hold on and stand tall" emails from all over the USA and Iceland. Emails in the 1,000's. This woman has no intention of backing down, learning about lgbt people, or changing her mind. She has God on her side.

What the case will rest on is the appearance of impropriety and prejudice in the University and the appearance that she will not uphold the University's values. It certainly appears that she will not uphold the University's values ... she wrote so. We'll see what the Court will say.

Opinions?