TOLEDO, Ohio – The firing of a college administrator over her criticism of gay rights has sparked a debate about free speech and whether universities have the right to regulate what employees say outside of their jobs.
Crystal Dixon filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court seeking to be reinstated to her University of Toledo job, which she lost after writing in a newspaper column that gay rights can’t be compared to civil rights because homosexuality is a choice.
“I take great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are ‘civil rights victims,'” Dixon wrote in an online edition of the Toledo Free Press on April 18. “Here’s why. I cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a Black woman.”
She also wrote: “There are consequences for each of our choices, including those who violate God’s divine order.”
Two weeks later, Dixon was fired as the school’s associate vice president for human resources. School officials said her views contradicted university policies, according to the lawsuit.
Though Dixon’s attorneys say other school administrators were not punished for expressing their opinions, the public university defends its actions.
