ICC Note: Gordon College of Salem Massachusetts has recently come under religious discrimination for their biblical rules for students regarding homosexuality. This private college forbids homosexual behavior in addition to many other behaviors that go against biblical guidelines such as lying and drunkenness. The Salem mayor recently ended the college’s contract that allowed them to manage the city’s Old Town Hall. This contract has existed since 1992, but was cut on account of Gordon College being singled out as a “discriminatory” and “offensive” organization.
By Heather Clark
07/16/2014 United States (Christian News Network) – The mayor of a city in Massachusetts has ended a contract with an area Christian college because of the institution’s biblical beliefs about homosexual behavior.
Salem Mayor Kimberley Driscoll recently sent a letter to Michael Lindsay, the president of Gordon College, advising that the school could no longer manage the Old Town Hall because it opposes sexual activities between those of the same gender.
She stated that her main concern was over the college’s behavioral standards policy, which prohibits staff and students from engaging in homosexual behavior. The policy also forbids fornication, drunkenness, profanity, blasphemy, lying and other behaviors that are contrary to biblical law.
“I hope you realize how hurtful and offensive these ‘behavioral standards’ are to members of the greater Salem LGBT community, some of whom are Gordon alumni, staff and/or students,” Driscoll wrote.
She said that Gordon College’s policies “fly in the face” of Salem’s non-discrimination law, which bars the city from working with entities that “discriminate” against others.
“While I respect your right to embed religious values on a private college campus, religious freedom does not afford you the right to impose those beliefs upon others and cannot be extended into a publicly owned facility or any management contract for a public owned facility, like Old Town Hall,” Driscoll wrote.
She told reporters recently that she made the decision to cancel the contract, which was to have expired later this year, when she discovered that Lindsay was among those who signed a letter to Barack Obama requesting that a religious exemption be included in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which bars the government from contracting with “discriminatory” organizations.
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