TEACHER OF THE YEAR SUSPENDED FOR FACEBOOK GAY RANT!

A Florida high school's "Teacher of the Year" was canned from the classroom for making homophobic remarks on Facebook, officials said.

Jerry Buell, a veteran social studies teacher at Mount Dora High School in Mount Dora, Fla., said on his Facebook page that he "almost threw up" when he read that New York legalized gay marriage last month, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Buell also slammed the same-sex unions as a "cesspool" and called gay marriage "a sin," officials said.

Lake County school officials suspended him for violating their newly-adopted social media policy that warns teachers to think before they post.

"Social media is a minefield," Chris Patton, a school district spokesman, told the Sentinel. "People think they're free to say what they want to, but in some aspects it can come back to haunt you."

Buell protested his suspension by saying the comments were written on his personal page while he was off duty – but the school district wasn't buying it.

"It wasn't out of hatred," he told the Sentinel. "It was about the way I interpret things."

"I've had kids that I've known that have been homosexuals. They know that I don't hate them. I love them," he added.

Buell's students said they were disappointed by his comments.

"This type of hateful language is dangerous not only to gay students, but also to anti-gay students," said Brett Winters, a Mount Dora alum.

Buell was assigned to an administrative position pending an investigation, the newspaper reported.

Fans of the teacher set up a Facebook page to support his reinstatement.

"[Buell] is a great teacher and the school board would be losing one of their BEST teachers in the district if they lose him," one supporter wrote.

WHERE THE F**K IS FREEDOM OF SPEECH AT?

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