Professor punished by university for refusing to use transgender pronouns appeals case

Mar 16, 2020 by

by Brandon Showalter, Christian Post:

A Christian philosophy professor at a state university in southern Ohio who was punished for objecting to using opposite sex pronouns when addressing a trans-identified student is appealing his case.

The appeal comes after a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit of Nicholas Meriwether, who argued that Shawnee State University unlawfully disciplined him after he refused to accede to the demands of a male student by referring to him as a woman and using female pronouns.

Meriwether is being represented by Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, which specializes in religious liberty and First Amendment law.

“Professors don’t give up their First Amendment freedoms simply by choosing to teach,” said ADF Senior Counsel Travis Barham, in a Thursday statement.

“Public universities have no business trying to force people to express ideological beliefs that they do not hold. Dr. Meriwether remains committed to serving all students with respect, but he cannot express all messages or endorse all ideologies. When the university tried to force him to do this and then punished him for exercising his rights, it violated the First Amendment.”

Barham believes the magistrate both misinterpreted and misapplied the law.

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