Under growing
pressure from Kentucky legislators to veto state funding
for a university that expelled a student last week for being
gay, Gov. Ernie Fletcher said Thursday he has not yet
made a decision. Two state senators and a state
representative are urging Fletcher to not appropriate
$10 million for a proposed pharmacy school at the University
of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, where 20-year-old Jason
Johnson was kicked out, The Lexington
Herald-Leader reports.
Pharmacy schools are prevented by national
accreditation rules from discriminating against gay
people. Democratic state senator Julian Carroll called
that a "major obstacle," adding that he believes
giving state money to a religious institution--the
University of the Cumberlands is a Southern Baptist
school--violates Kentucky's constitution.
Democratic state senator Ernesto Scorsone, who
is gay, and Democratic state representative Kathy
Stein also oppose the $10 million grant. Fletcher has
said he's concerned about increasing state debt through
capital projects like the proposed pharmacy school. (The
Advocate)
