Suit against Lutheran high school dismissed
Filed Under: California, lawsuit, legal
A Superior Court judge in Riverside County, Calif., has thrown out a lawsuit brought against California Lutheran High School (CLHS), Wildomar, Calif., that alleged the school discriminated against two female students by expelling them for their homosexual relationship.
Judge Gloria Trask ruled last month that there was no legal basis for the claim that CLHS—operated by an association of WELS congregations in California—falls under the state's Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in business settings.
Through its attorney, John McKay, CLHS argued the school is a private religious institution and can remove students for behavior that contradicts Christian values. "You can't infringe upon the basic rights of a religious group and their right of association by forcing them to accept people who don't believe in their values," McKay told the Riverside Press Enterprise. "How could the school teach that homosexuality is a sin, and at the same time allow these two girls to be students there?"
The two girls were 11th-graders in September 2005. They were questioned by then-principal Rev. Gregory Bork after other students reported the girls had told them they were in a lesbian relationship—something they publicized on their own Web page. The girls then admitted the nature of their relationship to him. Rev. Bork says the school was forced to expel them after he lovingly worked with the families and the girls refused to repent and end their relationship.
The ruling ends, for now, more than two years of legal proceedings; the plaintiffs are expected to appeal. Still, Mr. Steven Rosenbaum, the current principal, is expressing thanks for the ruling. "It's always humbling to step back and watch the Lord's hand at work in his time," he says. "He works everything out for the good of his people."
