Students rally around fired gay teacher in Glendora, California

Ken Bencomo (R)

This makes my heart swell a bit :)

After the wedding of a popular teacher was made public, the private school he taught at fired him. Now present and former students are rallying to his defense and demanding he be reinstated.

More than 45,000 people have signed a petition launched by Ken Bencomo's students, demanding that he be allowed to return to his job this fall. Bencomo has taught English at St. Lucy's Priory High School in Glendora, Calif., for 17 years. On July 1, a local newspaper ran a front page article about marriage equality, featuring a photo of Bencomo and his husband.

Despite an outpouring of support by alumni, faculty, and current students, Bencomo swiftly was told by school administrators that his marriage violated the Catholic church's teachings, so he had to be fired.

A press conference is planned for 9am tomorrow at the school to deliver the 45K signatures.

Brittany Littleton, an alum of the school and former student of Bencomo, had this to say about her reasons for coordinating the petition: “As a proud alum of St. Lucy’s, I am hurt and saddened by this blatant discrimination against Mr. B. No one should be fired for marrying the person they love. Along with current and former St. Lucy’s students, I look forward to taking this message, along with 45,000 signatures, directly to my alma mater. It’s the Christian thing to do.”

(via Advocate)