Ya pays ya money, ya plays the game

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As a counselor (according to State of Georgia anyway), I have a code of ethics for that role.

I do have this one.

However, I am not a certified counselor, do not have a formal degree in counseling nor am I a member of any professional association which certifies counselors. Ergo, I do not have to adhere to whatever code of ethics the boards require.

If I ever decide to pursue a formal degree and training, I'll have to abide by what the boards require if I want to keep my certification.

Ya pays ya money, ya plays the game and ya plays by the rules.

If you can't play by the rules, you can't play the game.

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2011/12/appeals-court-rejects-anti-gay-graduate-students-bid-for-reversal-of-her-expulsion/

This is NOT a free speech issue. This is, as the story states, a matter of a person seeking to become a counselor. As such, she would be required to do her best for anyone who came to her. Her personal feelings must be set aside.

"The court noted that the requirements of the counseling program ... are similar to the rules for judges, who must apply laws even if they consider them erroneous."

As the lady in question does not appear willing to set her personal beliefs aside, then she cannot be approved by the national certification boards. Nuf said.

The different issue, her expulsion, has nothing to do with her being certified. This is free speech, sorta.

It is not the university's role to determine if she can meet the ethical standards set by the national certification board. It is the university's role to train and educate her to be a counselor. Passing the board's requirements is up to  her.

Are yours the same as mine?

She is allowed to  think and say what she believes. That it may be incompatible with what appears to be her chosen profession is a personal matter she will have to deal with.

Expelling her was wrong.

As an ordained minister, I have the right to join two people in marriage. I will not officiate a ceremony of two people of the same gender, nor will I offer them premarital counseling. I do not object to other ministers officiating same gender marriages nor do I object to same-gender civil unions.

Furthermore, if two people of the same gender wish other kinds of counseling and advice from me, I'll do my very best.

Fortunately for me and unlike the young lady in the story above, as a minister I cannot be forced down a path not of my choosing. At least for right now, the First Amendment guarantees me that right.