Ohio Christian college professor who rejected transgender student's pronouns can sue university, court rules

A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that an Ohio college professor can try to prove his First Amendment rights were violated and sue the school for damages after he was reprimanded in 2016 for refusing to address a transgender student by her preferred pronouns.

According to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Nicholas Meriwether, a philosophy professor at Shawnee State University, argued a new rule by the university requiring faculty to refer to students by their preferred pronouns did not reflect "biological reality" and contradicted his devout Christian beliefs. A student in Meriwether's class, referred to as 'Doe', complained to university officials that Meriweather's repeated refusal to use the student's feminine pronouns created a 'hostile enivornment' in violation of the school's nondiscrimination policy. In response, the university gave Meriwether a written warning about his conduct, in which they explained Meriwether could be suspended without pay or fired for continuing to violate the policy.