Controversial speech leads to lawsuit

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A student at Los Angeles City College is suing the school, saying his instructor reacted inappropriately to his speech in class against same-sex marriage.

The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that student Jonathan Lopez says his public speaking professor called him a "fascist bastard" and refused to let him finish his speech against same-sex marriage in November, just weeks after California voters approved a referendum reversing a state Supreme Court ruling that bans on such unions violated the state Constitution.

Lopez claims when he tried to find out his grade for the speech, instructor John Matteson told him to "ask God what your grade is," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seeks to strike down a sexual harassment code barring students from uttering "offensive" statements.

Lopez is being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal organization based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and co-founded by James Dobson, the founder and Chairman of the evangelical conservative organization Focus on the Family.