Suit Filed After Ky. College Boots Gay Man

Suit Filed After Ky. College Boots Gay Man

FRANKFORT, Ky.

A gay-rights group sued Gov. Ernie Fletcher on Tuesday for not vetoing $11 million in state funds earmarked for a Baptist college that expelled an openly gay student this month.

Legislators included in the bud

get $10 million for a proposed pharmacy school and $1 million for scholarships at the University of the Cumberlands.

The college expelled Jason Johnson after he posted details of his dating life on the Web site MySpace.com.

The Kentucky Constitution prohibits the use of state tax money to support religious institutions or entities that discriminate against citizens, according to the lawsuit.

"We're asking that the governor uphold the constitution and not allow the funding of the University of the Cumberlands," said Christina Gilgor, executive director of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, which filed the lawsuit.

Fletcher declined to veto the funding because, he said, it came from coal severance taxes paid by companies, not by individual taxpayers.

The governor has said that before releasing the money, he would ask the courts to determine the constitutionality of providing state funding for construction projects at private institutions.

Fletcher's office had no immediate comment Tuesday on the lawsuit.