May 26, 2008 / 13:24 pm
An administrator at the University of Toledo who was fired for writing an editorial objecting to the comparison of homosexual rights to the civil rights struggles of African Americans and expressing her Christian views against homosexuality has accused the university of violating her First Amendment rights when it terminated her employment earlier this month.
Crystal Dixon, former associate vice president of human resources at the state-run University of Toledo, argued in an April 18 column in the Toledo Free Press that those “choosing the homosexual lifestyle” should not be considered “civil rights victims.” Dixon, who did not identify herself in the column as a university administrator, said that while she cannot change her identity as a black woman, “thousands of homosexuals make a life decision to leave the gay lifestyle.”
She also quoted two passages from the Bible, one concerning the nature of marriage and another saying that one should hate the sin but love the sinner.
Following a decision by the university to fire her for her views, Dixon spoke to a group of about 60 people at her church, the End Time Christian Fellowship, saying the issue is not the correctness of her beliefs but whether she is free to express them.