Judge Rules in Favor of College Student

A California judge has ruled in favor of a college student who was openly insulted by a professor during a speech on the value of traditional marriage. U.S. District Judge George H. King ruled that the college strike from its Web site a sexual harassment policy that censors speech deemed "offensive" to homosexual people — calling their campus policy "unconstitutionally overbroad."

Jonathan Lopez, a student at Los Angeles City College, was participating in a class assignment to give a speech on "any topic." While he was delivering the speech on his Christian faith, Lopez addressed the issues of God and morality; referred to the dictionary definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman and also read a passage from the Bible discussing marriage. Professor John Matteson interrupted him, called him a "fascist b----rd" for mentioning a moral conviction against homosexual marriage and later told him to "ask God what your grade is." The professor also warned on his evaluation of Lopez's speech: "Proselytizing is inappropriate in public school," and later threatened to have Lopez expelled.

Lopez sued the Los Angeles City College District — the largest community college system in the U.S. — represented by attorneys from the Alliance Defense Fund. "Professor Matteson clearly violated Mr. Lopez's free speech rights by engaging in viewpoint discrimination and retaliation because he disagreed with the student's religious beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel David French. "Moreoever, the district has a speech code that has created a culture of censorship on campus. America's public universities and colleges are supposed to be a 'marketplace of ideas,' not a hotbed of intolerance." [WorldNetDaily.com]