Jerry Buell, Teacher of the Year at
Mount Dora High School in South Florida, has said he won't apologize
for Facebook comments he made against passage of a gay marriage law
in New York.
Buell, a social studies teacher, wrote
on his Facebook profile that he “almost threw up” when he learned
about the law's approval, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
In the July 25 post, Buell called such
unions a sin and added that gay marriages were part of a “cesspool.”
“If they want to call it a union, go
ahead. But don't insult a man and woman's marriage by throwing it in
the same cesspool as sames-sex whatever,” Buell wrote.
The Lake County School Board has
suspended Buell from the classroom pending an internal investigation.
The district has said it does not consider social networks private.
Buell told Orlando CBS affiliate WKMG
that he has no plans to apologize for his remarks.
“I'm exercizing my rights, First
Amendment rights, guaranteed in the Constitution, supported by the
state of Florida … on Facebook,” Buell
said.
When asked if he believed a gay student
would feel comfortable coming to him for advise, Buell answered:
“Yes. Give me a chance.”
But moments later during the videotaped
interview, he added: “Do I apologize? No.”
A Facebook
page in support of Buell has attracted nearly 3,000 friends as of
Tuesday.