Linda Brunton, a psychology professor at Columbia State Community College, has landed herself into trouble for assigning a diversity project to her class. The assignment required students to wear a rainbow ribbon for a day and make public statements supporting gay rights. Then, they were asked to write a paper about the reactions they received from other people.

Lawyers from the Phoenix-based Alliance Defending Liberty, a Christian legal group, said that they received numerous complaints from Christian students in Brunton's class who opposed gay rights.

Travis Barham, an Alliance Defending Liberty attorney, alleged that the assignment was illegal.

"Dr. Brunton's assignment violates decades (of) clearly established law by compelling students to support in public views they either do not wish to advocate or find abhorrent," Barham wrote in a letter to the college.

Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality Project and a friend of Brunton said that the assignment was not forced on any student and such activities are commonly introduced in psychology classes.

According to a teaching guide for the assignment, called 'Promoting Increased Understanding of Sexual Diversity through Experience Learning,' the activities are conducted to help students understand gays and lesbians better. The guide also states that the assignment should be voluntary.

"Students were allowed to opt out, and some did," Sanders said. "And students were told that if they felt uncomfortable, they could take off the ribbons."

David Hacker of Alliance Defending Freedom said that the teacher has all the rights and freedom to teach students about empathy or to make them understand the opposing views in a classroom. But it is not necessary that the students must wear ribbons outside the class.

The college has initiated an investigation against Brunton after students complained that she violated principles of their First Amendment rights by assigning them an activity that supported the homosexual movement.

"When the allegations were brought to the attention of college officials, Columbia State Community College began an investigation, which is currently ongoing and congruent with Board policy and applicable laws," the college said.

Brunton serves on the board of Columbia CARES and is a member of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology and the Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Educators Network.

The group's letter to the college also says that Brunton referred to the students who are against gay rights as 'uneducated bigots.' They are demanding an apology from the professor to the concerned students. Plus, they want the college to discipline her.

The assignment also annoyed Greg Gwin, the minister at Collegevue Church of Christ, which is located right across the street from the college. On Wednesday, the church placed a sign that read, 'CSCC: God is not an Uneducated Bigot Rom 1:26,27.'

"I am increasingly disgusted by the intolerance of those who claim to promote tolerance," Gwin said.

Jeff Vernon, alumni, who attended Bruton's class two years ago said that the professor publicly voiced her opinion in favor of gay rights and at one instance called the gay rights opposers, hateful.

Vernon also added that he did not participate in the activity and faced no negative consequences.

"It did not affect my grade," Vernon said. "It did make for an uncomfortable situation."