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from Gay Activism in the Schools
Catholic Law Center
Wins Free Speech Victory
The Thomas More Law Center has won a victory for a Catholic student whose viewpoint was banned from a panel discussion during Diversity Week
By Frank York
October 6, 2004 - A Detroit Federal District has ordered the Ann Arbor Public Schools to pay
$102,738 in attorney fees and costs to the Thomas More Law Center for winning a
lawsuit on behalf of high-school student Betsy Hansen.
Hansen had been banned from expressing her religious beliefs about homosexuality
in 2002 during a "Diversity Week" program at Pioneer High School. The school had
sponsored a "Homosexuality and Religion" discussion panel but had refused
Hansen's request to include a panel member who would express Catholic beliefs
about homosexuality.
The school claimed that Hansen's message was negative and would have watered
down the "positive" religious message they wanted to convey--that homosexual
behavior was consistent with Christian teachings.
The Thomas More Law Center filed suit against the school district and several
officials in July, 2002. The Center maintained that Hansen's constitutional
right to free speech had been violated.
Detroit Judge Gerald E. Rosen issued a 70-page ruling in Hansen's favor.
Rosen noted: "This case presents the ironic, and unfortunate, paradox of a
public high school celebrating 'diversity' by refusing to permit the
presentation to students of an 'unwelcomed' viewpoint on the topic of
homosexuality and religion, while actively promoting the competing view."
Updated: 8 February 2008
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