English teacher Jim Zimmerman had worked at Alter High School in Ohio for 23 years, and is a graduate of the school himself. He was forced out when an anonymous person sent a copy of his marriage certificate to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, which oversees the school and opposes same-sex marriage. As a result, officials at the archdiocese made the decision not to renew his teaching contract for the following year. But the “outrageous” policy clearly isn’t backed by the student body, who launched a petition to “Fight for Mr Zimmerman’s right to teach”. As of publication, it has gained more than 18,500 signatures. “The Church has always told me and my fellow students to love and accept others,” wrote Michael Ferguson, the student who launched the petition. “But what the Archdiocese is doing is not accepting nor loving Mr Zimmerman but pushing him away just because who he loves.”