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Ruling Lets Lawsuit Over Transgender Pronoun Dispute Proceed
< < Back toCINCINNATI (AP) — A new federal appeals court ruling allows a professor to continue with his lawsuit against an Ohio school that rebuked him for not addressing a transgender student using the student’s preferred gender terms.
The Friday ruling reversed a judge’s dismissal of Nicholas Meriwether’s case against Shawnee State University.
Meriwether argued school officials violated his rights by compelling him to speak in a way that contradicts his Christian beliefs.
Shawnee State argued such language was part of his job, not speech protected by the First Amendment.
The appeals court said the First Amendment protects professors’ academic speech, and sent the case back to the lower court for further proceedings.