Gay Student Says Baptist School Denied Readmission

An honors-caliber college student says he was denied readmission to a northern Missouri Baptist school 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