http://origin.mercurynews.com/news/ci_9912889A former San Jose City College biology professor has sued the community college district, claiming she was wrongfully fired for answering a student's question about the relationship between heredity and homosexuality
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in San Jose, June Sheldon alleges that college officials trampled on academic freedoms and free speech rights by firing her in February. Sheldon is backed in the case by the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative organization that also has been heavily involved in the legal battles over gay marriage in California and elsewhere.
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The controversy centers on an incident in June 2007, when Sheldon was asked by a student in a human heredity class about heredity's impact on "homosexual behavior in males and females." Among other references, Sheldon noted a German study demonstrating some link between maternal stress and homosexual behavior in males, according to the lawsuit.
After a student complained, college officials investigated and dismissed Sheldon, an adjunct professor at the school since January 2004. Court papers say the student expressed concern that Sheldon's response was "offensive and unscientific."
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