Some of us have equality. Some of us do not.
This is a true statement even here in the land of the free, the United States.
It’s great to say all people should be treated equal and there are so many ways in which this is becoming more and more true, but the fact remains that there are still many people who are not treated equally.
One of those people is Tippi McCollough a teacher at Catholic private school Mount St. Mary Academy spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday since she was forced to resign 45 minutes after marrying her long-time partner. McCollough says, 45 minutes after they exchanged vows at their wedding, she received a phone call from her boss, saying if she didn’t resign, she would be fired.
According to an article on the Huggington Post website, McCollough was forced to resign on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 after returning from a trip where she had married her partner of 14 years. The former teacher, who had been in an openly gay relationship for 14 years, acknowledges her contract with the school contained a morality clause, but says she was never approached by the school about violating it until she was married.
This is an injustice. Tippi McCollough was not teaching about sexual orientation. Her relationship was not a secret. So why would a legally binding service to unite her and her partner mean she can no longer teach at that school? I understand it is a private school and they have a morality clause, but forcing a teacher to resign does not bode well for her when she goes to get a job elsewhere. Her commitment to her students did not change because she became married to her partner.
Here is a link to the statement from Mount St. Mary Academy.
If you would like to sign the petition from the Human Rights Campaign to show your support for Tippi McCollough you can find it here.
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