.- An administrator at the University of Toledo who was fired for
writing an editorial objecting to the comparison of homosexual rights to the
civil rights struggles of African Americans and expressing her Christian views
against homosexuality has accused the university of violating her First
Amendment rights when it terminated her employment earlier this month.
Crystal
Dixon, former associate vice president of human resources at the state-run
University of Toledo, argued in an April 18 column in the Toledo Free Press
that those “choosing the homosexual lifestyle” should not be considered “civil
rights victims.” Dixon, who did not identify herself in the column as a
university administrator, said that while she cannot change her identity as a
black woman, “thousands of homosexuals make a life decision to leave the gay
lifestyle.”
She also
quoted two passages from the Bible, one concerning the nature of marriage and another
saying that one should hate the sin but love the sinner.
Following a
decision by the university to fire her for her views, Dixon spoke to a group of
about 60 people at her church, the End Time Christian Fellowship, saying the
issue is not the correctness of her beliefs but whether she is free to express
them.
“This is a
matter of principle, plain and simple,” she said.
Thomas A. Sobecki, Dixon’s attorney, said she was fired from her job “because
she exercised her right to free speech… She spoke about something certain
people at the university disagreed with.”
“She doesn't want to sue; she'd rather be working right now,” he said.
Dixon has
also retained for her defense the Thomas More Law Center, an Ann Abor-based
organization which says it is “dedicated to the defense and promotion of the
religious freedom of Christians.”
“Essentially
she was fired for being a Christian,” argued Richard Thompson, President and
Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center.
“Crystal
Dixon is a courageous Christian woman whom we are privileged to represent,”
Thompson continued. “The University of Toledo brags about being friendly
to ‘lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning
individuals.’ They apparently are also proud of their hostility toward
Christians.”
“Where is
the so-called free expression of ideas that universities so adamantly defend in
other contexts?” he said.
Crystal
Dixon has launched a web site at www.crystaldixon.com, “Crystal Dixon: Faith and Free
Speech Defender,” to explain her story and to ask for donations.
Black
University Employee Fired for Stating Homosexuality Not the Same as Colour
TOLEDO, May
14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Crystal Dixon, associate vice president of human
resources at the University of Toledo, was first suspended then fired after
writing a letter to a local newspaper. In it she responded to a previous
article released by the paper that compared the discrimination of homosexuals
to that of African-Americans. Dixon, an African-American, challenged the
civil rights comparison of race with homosexual behavior, saying that science
has never found a genetic cause or DNA for homosexuality. She said many gay
people have overcome unwanted homosexual feelings as evidenced by the growing
population of PFOX and ex-gay organizations.
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) says the University of
Toledo's firing of administrator Crystal Dixon for speaking out about PFOX and
the ex-gay community is an act of bigotry.
"African-Americans like Dixon have the right to defend their race without
being subjected to punishment," said Regina Griggs, Executive Director of
PFOX. Dixon was responding to an article by Toledo Free Press Editor
Michael Miller, who had compared gay rights to the African-American civil
rights movement. Miller also wrote that three women he had dated
subsequently declared themselves gay.
The University of Toledo reportedly has a "Safe Places Program"
designating space for "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and
questioning individuals." According to Lloyd Jacobs, president of
the university, there is a Safe Places sticker on his door of the president's
office. "Mr. Jacobs needs to add ex-gays and African-Americans to
that list of campus 'safe spaces," said Griggs. "His firing of
Dixon creates an unsafe environment for minorities."
Black
University Employee Suspended for Objecting to Comparison between Black and
Homosexual Discrimination
Homosexual lifestyle chosen, race not, says UT administrator
By Michael
Baggot
TOLEDO, OH,
May 6, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A black employee of the University of Toledo
(UT) was suspended on Friday after expressing offense at a local newspaper
editor's comparison of discrimination against African Americans with
discrimination against actively homosexual persons, noting that homosexual
behavior is freely chosen in a way race is not.
"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," Associate Vice President of Human Resources
Crystal Dixon wrote in a guest piece for the Toledo Free Press.
Dixon noted
that, whereas race is genetically determined, the homosexual lifestyle is
freely entered into and can be abandoned with proper support.
"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."
Dixon added
that many actively homosexual individuals have realized "that their choice
of same-sex practices wreaked havoc in their psychological and physical lives."
Dixon cited the example of Venus Magazine publisher Charlene E. Cothran, a
former gay rights activist who abandoned 29 years of active lesbianism after a
powerful conversion to Christianity.
Dixon wrote
her April 18 "Gay rights and wrongs: another perspective" column in
response to an April 6 piece in support of the "gay culture" written
by Toledo Free Press Editor-in-Chief Michael S. Miller.
Decrying
"the hatred and prejudice" expressed towards members of the "gay
community," Miller went on to compare the "gay rights struggle"
to "my black friends' struggles and my wheelchair-bound friends'
struggles."
Miller
insisted that religion was partially to blame for the unfair treatment members
of the homosexual community have experienced.
"There
are people who are so strongly anti-gay rights, they lust for legislation to
limit the gay community's freedoms. That makes no intellectual or moral
sense to me. Some of this prejudice is based in religion."
"I
find it confusing that people who believe in a savior who opens his arms to
everyone think he'll draw those same arms shut to keep gay people away. And
do not tell me you are 'tolerant' or 'tolerate' gay people. Stop for a
moment and think about how condescending and evil that attitude is."
Dixon
responded that Christianity has traditionally recognized both the intrinsic
dignity of every human person, as well as the sinfulness of homosexual actions
that contradict God's plan for human sexuality.
"First,
human beings, regardless of their choices in life, are of ultimate value to God
and should be viewed the same by others. At the same time, one's personal
choices lead to outcomes either positive or negative."
"It is
base human nature to revolt and become indignant when the world or even God
Himself, disagrees with our choice that violates His divine order," Dixon
added.
Miller
himself expressed displeasure over Dixon's punishment.
"The
university operates in an atmosphere of idea exchange, and while I recognize
the institution's desire to distance itself from her, this is a basic free
speech issue and I am disappointed she has been punished for expressing her
views."
In a
subsequent Toledo Free Press column, UT President Lloyd Jacobs wrote that
Dixon's views "do not accord with the values of the University of
Toledo."
Jacobs
wrote his column to "repudiate much of her [Dixon's] writing." He
went on to cite his support, on behalf of UT, for two pieces of legislation
developed to "extend to domestic partners a number of rights and
privileges."
The
president also noted his support for a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender,
Queer, and Questioning group on campus.
A media
spokesman for the president told LifeSiteNews.com that Dixon will remain on
paid leave of absence until further notice.