© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Student claims Missouri college denied readmission because he is gay

Sean MacEntee
/
Flickr

An honors-caliber college student says he was denied readmission to a Baptist school in Hannibal, Mo., because he's gay.

Twenty-year-old Chase Martinson of suburban St. Louis spent his first two years at Hannibal-LaGrange University. He temporarily withdrew in October due to illness but hoped to return in the fall.

School documents show he was initially accepted back in January and offered a spot in the private college's honors program in early March before recently receiving another letter saying his application was inactive. That letter alludes to a school morals clause which forbids homosexuality as a "misuse of God's gift."

Martinson says he plans to attend the University of Missouri-St. Louis to pursue a nursing degree. Legal experts say the school's religious affiliation allows for such exclusions.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
Related Content