From the National Organization for Marriage (NOM):
Dr. Angela McCaskill. You may not know her name but you should. She is the first black deaf woman to be granted a PhD by Gallaudet University, a national university for deaf people.
Until a few days ago, she was Gallaudet's chief diversity officer.
You can see her discussing her job here:
But then someone complained about Dr. McCaskill.
Was it about her job performance? Did she make a mistake? Fail in a key duty? Treat someone wrongly?
No. The complaint against Dr. Angela McCaskill consists of one fact and one fact alone: she exercised her core civil rights by signing a petition to put the question of marriage on the ballot for the voters of Maryland.
That's it. But that in itself was enough for Gallaudet to relieve Dr. McCaskill of her responsibilities and to place her on paid leave while they "investigate" her!
This is a very sad day in America. African-American Christians, it seems to me, are paying a disproportionate price for exercising these core civil rights to speak, to vote, to donate and to organize on behalf of marriage and traditional views on sexuality. Consider these examples:
Crystal Dixon, an administrator at the University of Toledo, was fired after writing a letter (as a private citizen) to the editor of the Toledo Free Press. The letter respectfully opposed the notion of gay rights and explained God's plan for human beings. Activists later tried to keep a city from hiring her.
In New Jersey, a special education teacher, Viki Knox, wrote a message on her personal Facebook page criticizing the school's promotion of a "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month." Activist groups and others have demanded that she be fired, and have planned protests targeting her. The lawyer who began the attack on Knox said: "Hateful public comments from a teacher cannot be tolerated. She has a right to say it. But she does not have a right to keep her job after saying it."
This week The Star-Ledger reports that, under ongoing pressure and threats not only to her job but to her pension, Viki Knox has chosen to resign!
And in Michigan, Julea Ward, a graduate student at Eastern Michigan University, was dismissed from that school's counseling program after asking for permission to refer a client to another counselor because she was uncomfortable affirming that client's same-sex relationship.
But there's something especially chilling in this most recent case regarding the treatment of Dr. McCaskill, who simply exercised her civil right to sign a petition in favor of putting a certain question before her state's voters.
It would be shocking to the conscience if this happened anywhere. But here's another thing you may not know about Gallaudet: it's not a private university! It's a Congressionally chartered corporation, with a legal obligation to report each year to the Secretary of Education, who must approve any transfer or sale of real property owned by the university. Traditionally, the diplomas at Gallaudet are even signed by the President of the United States.
I hope Gallaudet University does the right thing. If not, I hope the President of the United States will make it clear that this injustice must stop. As a final failsafe, I hope Congress recognizes its responsibility to affirm how this behavior is unacceptable in a government-affiliated institution.
Let me make it clear that there is a principle at stake here as important as marriage itself: No American, whether he or she is for or against gay marriage, should be afraid to vote, to sign petitions, to donate or to speak—with civility of course!—in support of that position.
Even Marylanders for Marriage Equality campaign manager, Josh Levin, says that Angela McCaskill "should be reinstated immediately."
I thank Mr. Levin for that, and I hope and pray that he's doing that out of conviction and not just because he knows that this story is a real problem for his goal of getting voters to approve gay marriage in Maryland—the record of gay rights activists is not very good in this regard.
Please join me in praying for Dr. McCaskill, and praying that justice be done in her case.
In addition (10/13/12), the Family Research Council makes the point:
As Americans wrestle over this debate in four states, Dr. McCaskill is the perfect illustration of what's at stake. It's not love. It's not commitment. It's not even equality. The battle for marriage is about our most basic civil rights--rights to worship, to speak freely, to cast our ballots, even, in Dr. McCaskill's case, to pursue a livelihood. As Derek McCoy, head of the Maryland Marriage Alliance, pointed out, "If these attacks can be made before same-sex 'marriage' is law, how can homosexual activists in good faith say that religious liberties will not be attacked it Question 6 passes?" If Gallaudet is willing to harass its own educational pioneers, there is no limit to the persecution everyday Marylanders will face if marriage is redefined.