News

HOWELL, Michigan, December 15, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Catholic student in Michigan is suing a teacher who reportedly punished him for stating his religious belief against the gay lifestyle when that teacher asked him his opinion on the issue.

The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) announced in a press release Thursday that they had filed a lawsuit on behalf of Daniel Glowacki, a junior at Howell High School at the time of the incident, against the school and his economics teacher Johnson McDowell.

The incident occurred on October 20, 2010, the day that Daniel’s Economics class teacher, Jay McDowell, wore a purple “Tyler’s Army” t-shirt, as part of a national campaign promoted by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to highlight “bullying” of homosexuals.

The lawyers say McDowell spent the entire class promoting the anti-gay bullying agenda.

According to TMLC, which is representing the student in court, Glowacki was specifically asked by McDowell about his feelings on homosexuals; he responded that as a Catholic he was offended by the gay and lesbian lifestyle. Because of his answer, Daniel was ordered to leave the classroom under threat of suspension.

Join a Facebook page to defend marriage here

The lawsuit, filed in the federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, claims that Daniel’s constitutional rights to freedom of speech and equal protection were violated by the policies and actions of the school district and McDowell. Among other things, the lawsuit seeks nominal damages, a declaration that the school policies and actions violate the Constitution, and injunction to prohibit further constitutional violations.

“This case points out the outrageous way in which homosexual activists have turned our public schools into indoctrination centers, and are seeking to eradicate all religious and moral opposition to their agenda,” said Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of TMLC, in the release.

“It defies common sense for schools to ban all sorts of unhealthy foods while at the same time promoting the homosexual lifestyle, which hard statistics show increases drug abuse, suicides and reduces the life expectancies by several years. Schools that promote such lifestyles are engaging in a form of child abuse.”

Read the full Thomas More Society release here.