'Julea Ward freedom of conscience act' is a bunch of crap
Michigan has just been letting the hits roll lately. On an unrelated note, I’m planning to move to a less… vagina hating state sometime in 2013. But if anything comes of this new anti-gay bill, I may not make it through 2012.
If you aren’t one of my Eastern Michigan University peers, you probably have never heard about incredible raging homophobe Julea Ward. She made national news in 2010 when, after being kicked out of her counseling program for refusing to affirm a client’s homosexual orientation, she sued EMU. She lost her case but continued to appeal. In early 2012 the case got reinstated.
While all that was going on MI Representative Joe Haveman introduced HB5040 aka the “Julea Ward freedom of conscience act,” in October 2011. This bill would make it so that:
“A public degree or certificate granting college, university, junior college, or community college of this state shall not discipline or discriminate against a student in a counseling, social work, or psychology program because the student refuses to counsel or serve a client as to goals, outcomes, or behaviors that conflict with a sincerely held religious belief of the student, if the student refers the client to a counselor who will provide the counseling or services.”
In other words, LEAVE JULEA ALONE!
This bill, in technical terms, is fucking dumb. But I have to say that with a few modifications this bill could be great!
If I ever go for counseling, I don’t want some homophobic douche with bad hair telling me that I’m unhealthy because I like to suck dick. In fact, I would be happy if every single counselor in America would be forced to display their religious preferences, political affiliation and stance on major social issues in their lobbies. That way, when I walk in I can find out if I need to take my hard-earned gay dollars elsewhere.
That may make some good counselors and psychologists look bad, but I have another idea. Maybe we can create a special undergraduate area of study, just for the Juleas of the world. Let’s call it a bachelor’ in religious directive counseling. It would be restricted to only allowing employment at centers with expressed religious leanings. I mean, do we really want the vox populi exposed to this kind of batshit crazy hateful behavior? I don’t.
If that doesn’t work, maybe Julea can just suck it the fuck up!
As an undergrad at EMU with eight credits left until I get my bachelors in psychology, I have done a great many things that are against my beliefs. I had to dissect a frog, even though I don’t believe we should use animals in that way. I had sit in uncomfortable chairs in ungodly heat without WIFI, even though I firmly believe access to information is a human right.
In the pursuit of a college degree, every student has to do something they disagree with or just don’t want to do. Just because she can wrap her personal displeasure in the cloak of religion doesn’t mean she’s exempt. Even though I’m a staunch atheist, I do think that religious people should be allowed some leeway. This is not one such instance.
I am sick of people shrouding hate in religion and expecting people to support them.
Your religion is not an excuse to deny my existence, tell her what she can do with her vagina, get you out of an assignment you don’t feel like doing and it damn sure has no place in the books of law.
