Gay Lib v. University of Missouri, 558 F. 2d 848 (8th Cir. 1977) was a court case in 1977 about discrimination in student group recognition at state universities, namely the University of Missouri. The case reached the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. The courts determined that "the University, acting here as an instrumentality of the State, has no right to restrict speech or association 'simply because it finds the views expressed to be abhorrent'."

1. Jump up^ , 558 F.2d 848 (8th Cir. 1977).

First Draft: This will you go before references below the short summary.

Gay Liberation also known as Gay Lib was a homosexual group founded at the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1971.The group was founded to allow LGBT students to speak about their sexuality and be recognized by the University. After their founding they wanted formal recognition. To gain the support needed Gay Lib like any other group on campus had to be approved by the committee on student organization, the committee on government and activities, and the dean of student affairs. The first two committees approved recognition,but Edwin Hutchins, the Dean of Student Affairs denied Gay Lib's approval. The group did not want to accept the decision, so they appealed to the Board of Curators, the University's highest governing body, who denied the appeal. ^[1]

Following the denial of formal recognition by the Board of Curators Gay Lib filed suit with a Missouri district court. The group continued to base their claim on the university's violation of their first and fourteenth amendment.The Missouri district court denied the group's approval again, so they kept appealing for seven years until the case reached Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1978. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned all the previous decisions and declared that the group had a right of recognition from the university.

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^{Gay Liberation also known as Gay Lib was a homosexual group founded at the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1971. The group was founded to allow LGBT students to speak about their sexuality and be recognized by the University. After their founding they wanted formal recognition. To gain the support needed Gay Lib like any other group on campus had to be approved by the committee on student organization, the committee on government and activities, and the dean of student affairs. The first two committees approved recognition, but Edwin Hutchins, the Dean of Student Affairs denied Gay Lib's approval. The group did not want to accept the decision, so they appealed to the Board of Curators, the University's highest governing body, who denied the appeal. [1]}

Following the denial of formal recognition by the Board of Curators Gay Lib filed suit with a Missouri district court. The group continued to base their claim on the university's violation of their first and fourteenth amendment ^[2].The Missouri district court denied the group's approval again, so they kept appealing for seven years until the case reached Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1978 ^[3]. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned all the previous decisions and declared that the group had a right of recognition from the university. ^[4] ***Good revisions; be sure to include all the information on citations 2-4.

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