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Staff Reports

Actor Chuck Norris Attacks White House For Pushing Pro-Gay Boy Scout Agenda

Screenshot of Chuck Norris via FOX News

DALLAS, TEXAS -- In a sharply worded op-ed penned for a conservative "gun shooting sports news" site - Ammoland.com, actor Chuck Norris accused President Barack Obama of "creating a pro-gay Boy Scouts of America."

The actor writes says that James Turley, the Boy Scouts of America national board member who says he will work to remove the organisation's ban of gay scouts and leaders from within, was "prodded with perks and favors" from the White House in order to incite the change. Turley is also chairman and chief executive of Ernst & Young, a globally integrated professional services organization for business.

"Is it a coincidence that a couple of months ago, Obama reversed his position on marriage, extending the union to gay couples, and that Turley just came out of the closet in his position against the BSA's position?" asked the actor. "Is it a coincidence that Turley is in tight cahoots with the White House and that he is the only BSA national board member in 100 years to oppose its pro-traditional family stance?"

Norris also claimed that BSA epitomizes the "best of America," adding that "the BSA is as integral a part of American life and culture as hot dogs, baseball and Grandma's apple pie."

In an article published Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times notes that the actor's op-ed is largely written as a series of provocative questions -- not statements.

"Is it a coincidence that Obama will stand up repeatedly for the children of illegal immigrants (and grant them amnesty and taxpayer money) but that he will not once stand up for children in the BSA and the organization's rights and freedoms to hold their own core values and beliefs?"

"Is it a coincidence that as the honorary BSA president and a 'constitutional lawyer,' Obama hasn’t had one minute in his schedule over the past years to defend or say anything about the series of lawsuits that have been levied against the BSA because of its First Amendment rights to stand against atheists, agnostics and homosexuals?"

Reaction to the actor's editorial has ranged from support to one angered person who tweeted:

"Shame on you @chucknorris for your discrimination against homosexual kids."

Calls to the actor and Ammoland from LGBTQNation for comment went unanswered.

Federal District Court Judge In Georgia Dismisses Anti-Gay Former Graduate Student's Suit

Jennifer Keeton via Facebook

ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- U. S. District Court Judge Judge J. Randal Hall ruled Friday that Augusta State University officials did not violate the First Amendment rights of a graduate student, Jennifer Keeton, who was ordered to complete remedial training in response to her statements that she would not “condone the propriety of homosexual relations or a homosexual identity in a counseling situation,” based on her religious convictions.

The Student Press Law Centre reports that Keeton, who was enrolled in ASU’s Counselor Education Program, sued the university in July 2010 after faculty members told her she couldn’t complete the degree program if she did not complete a remediation plan, which included attending diversity workshops, reading articles about counseling GLBTQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer/Questioning) students and submitting monthly writing assignments detailing what she learned.

The Augusta State University faculty members in charge of the program were concerned that her strong beliefs would interfere with her ability to become an effective professional practitioner, as they conflicted with the professional ethical standards set forth by the American Counseling Association and the American School Counselor Association. 

Though Keeton originally agreed to the plan, she later withdrew her consent via email, saying, “I really want to stay in the program, but I don’t want to have to attend all the events about what I think is not moral behavior, and then write reflections on them that don’t meet your standards because I haven’t changed my views or beliefs… My biblical views won’t change.” 

With the help of Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization, Keeton filed suit seeking a court order allowing her to stay in the program without completing remediation, along with a declaration that her rights were violated and money damages. Keeton alleged the remediation plan violated her rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Judge Hall wrote in his decision that Keeton was "not being unlawfully compelled to affirm homosexual behavior because she would be required to do so only in the context of private meetings with clients – not in public statements."

Hall dismissed Keeton’s lawsuit, ruling that Keeton was aware of the conduct standards set by the counselor program and that she failed to prove those standards suppressed her free speech:

“The remediation plan imposed on Keeton pursuant to those policies placed limits on her speech and burdened her religious beliefs, but, as the allegations show, the plan was motivated by a legitimate pedagogical interest in cultivating a professional demeanor and concern that she might prove unreceptive to certain issues and openly judge her clients,” the opinion states. “The allegations show, in sum, that while Keeton was motivated by her particular religious beliefs, defendants were not.”