Christian Teacher Under Investigation For Opposing Homosexuality -- [url=http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/daily-dispatch/christian-teacher-under-investigation-for-opposing-homosexuality.html?test=latestnews]Article Here[/url] [quote]A New Jersey high school teacher is under investigation after she allegedly posted a message on her private Facebook page that she opposed homosexuality because of her Christian faith. The Union Township school district said they are investigating whether Viki Knox violated school policies when she allegedly posted remarks saying homosexuality is a sin that “breeds like cancer” and describing it as “perverted.” Knox also complained, on her private Facebook page, that Union High School featured a display recognizing October as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History month. The display reportedly featured photos of Harvey Milk, Neil Patrick Harris and Virginia Woolf.[/quote] [...] [quote]“I find what she wrote on Facebook endangers the learning atmosphere for students beyond repair and violates the school district’s own policy of a safe and comfortable environment for all,” Goldstein said. “She’s no longer in a position to teach in the classroom because she will make many students fearful of her hatred.”[/quote] [...] [quote]“The problem is they don’t want anyone who believes homosexuality is a sin to be a teacher,” Davis said. “Teachers obviously should not be punished for exercising these kinds of constitutionally protected rights. She has a right to communicate her religious beliefs.” Davis said the ADF found it necessary to take a stand on behalf of the teacher because of what they called the massive opposition against her by New Jersey’s homosexual community. “She is being persecuted for having a belief,” Davis said. “It’s very scary – she has a right to communicate her religious beliefs.”[/quote] So...does a public employee forfeit his or her right to free speech, regardless of the environment? Disclaimer: this is a political discussion, not a debate about homosexuality. Please direct all such comments to the thread in the Theology section.

No matter what one thinks of homosexuality, I believe that she has the right to say it on a private page... If she were teaching it in class it would be a different story... If you are infringing her right to free speech in private, where does it stop? Does she forfeit the right to speak her beliefs in a private conversation with another person? I guess everyone in such positions should have to wear something that will record their conversations at all times, then... If a person disagrees with the content of her speech, they can argue it with her. They have that right... Unless you're going to prohibit both sides of the debate, which, if you're prohibiting one side, isn't it fair to prohibit the other... Someone could be offended by the other side as well... Of course, since I'm not the school, I can't dictate what will get someone fired...

If it's a private organization, then, depending on state/local regulations, this would be legal. Pretty sure that since she's on government payroll, they can't fire her for stating her personal beliefs off the clock. And technically, it's not forfeiting her right to free speech if she's only getting fired. It would be if she was getting fined or imprisoned because of it, but until it's a legal repercussion, then it's not a violation of free speech.

Looking at her situation, I don't think they can really say she was doing wrong in what she posted. She did not make threatening comments, she did not pick out any students or faculty, she never even mentioned the school. She voiced her thoughts on a topic, not a person, thus she never created an unsafe learning environment. May I also point out she only discussed the act, and not the people? Yet everyone is blowing this into a "what if" situation... "What if the kids are afraid?" "What if she doesn't stop bullying that she may see between a gay student and his/her peers?" I think they're blowing this out of proportion to be- as they described it- a witch hunt. Though she believes it is wrong, this does not mean she is going to enforce some kind of radical hatred in her classroom. My questions: Were there complaints from her previous students? What percent of her students were part of the lgbt community? Were they discriminated against in her classroom? If there is no sign of hate in her classroom, if no one was uncomfortable with her beliefs before these posts were found, if everything was just fine before... then why did it suddenly change when they did find them? Because their perspective of her did? Because of the fear of what could be? I find that it takes more to fire someone than that. And that's why this irks me. I was physically threatened in high school. There was physical evidence- letters, notes, internet posts... My family presented those to the school board. Their response: "We can't do anything until she is physically harmed on school property"... Note- these were death threats. One letter found contained a full depiction of my murder beginning to end... and they wanted to wait still. So why does that go unchecked on a daily basis while this teacher is pounced all over for posting an extremely generic, undirected statement?

While there is a lot about which to be concerned regarding a person whose job is to educate young holding the patently ignorant view that any and all gays are but "perverts," the ever growing accessibility and usage of social networking websites to monitor and essentially dictate people's actions when off the clock is troubling. A person's personal views don't definitively preclude them from being competent at their job, an this kind of stuff strikes me as an attempt to fire ppl based on their personal views as opposed to any job incompetence. Living in the Midwest I worry myself about future job opportunities that may not be available to me on the sole basis of my lack of belief in god. Something that likely would not be hard to find out. On the one hand, the widespread usage of social media has made employees off the clock more visible to the general public an therefore in a sense, constant representatives of their place of employment. On the other hand, companies refusing to hire ppl based on what legal (albeit perhaps not PC) actions they take on their free time has no place in society if you ask me. If we don't protect people from these sort of arbitrary firings, we embrace a society wherein companies can, by all intents, legally infringe on people's rights to live their lives as try see fit. Dante