''The Counselor Education Program is grounded in the core principles of the American Counseling Association and the American School Counselor Association, which defines the roles and responsibilities of professional counselors in its code of ethics.... The code is included in the curriculum of the counseling education program, which states that counselors in training have the same responsibility as professional counselors to understand and follow the ACA Code of Ethics.''
Statement from Augusta State University, as quoted by FOX News, regarding behavior and beliefs of Jennifer Keeton. She is a 24-year-old grad student who is suing for the right in the university's counseling program while also declaring openly that LGBT people choose their sexual orientation and gender identity. She does not want to take part in a suggested "remediation" program -- a program designed to make her more familiar with issues that affect LGBT populations. Keeton's lawsuit claims she will face expulsion if she does not comply. (FOX News)
''She stated in one paper that she believes GLBTQ 'lifestyles' to be identity confusion. Faculty have also received unsolicited reports from another student that [Miss Keeton] has relayed her interest in conversion therapy for GLBTQ populations, and she has tried to convince other students to support and believe her views.''
Taken from Jennifer Keeton's lawsuit. She alleges that her university is requiring her to complete a course of diversity workshops, and that the counseling programs directors have requested her to become more familiar with gay populations. She has been told, allegedly, that her stated religious beliefs about gay and trans people are at odds with current counseling practices. Keeton is suing with th help of the Alliance Defense Fund. The ADF is a legal organization is dedicated to conservative Christian beliefs, and it has a history of being aligned with anti-gay causes. (ABC News)
''And for simply voicing her deeply held religious beliefs including clear biblical teaching on sexual morality, this 24-year-old student is under fire from the faculty at Augusta State.''
Voiceover quote from an ABC News reporter who interviewed the controversial counseling student, Jennifer Keeton. She is suing for her right to get a degree in couseling while espousing her degrading views about gay, lesbian and transgender people. Multiple sources have reported that Keeton's statemetns include support for so-called "conversion therapy.'' It's not clear from this woefully-incomplete ABC News report why the reporter or producer might think that "bibilical teaching" includes the often-damaging effects of that religiously based practice. "Conversion therapists" usually try to convice people with homosexual orientations that they can pray their way into heterosexual compliance. The ABC report does not explore how Keeton's views are at odds with the vast majority of modern psychological policies and practices either. (ABC News)
