Gallaudet University’s chief diversity officer — on administrative leave for signing a petition to bring Maryland’s same-sex marriage law to a vote — demanded on Tuesday to be reinstated to her old job and to be fairly compensated by the university for the emotional damage and embarrassment her suspension has caused.

Speaking through a sign-language interpreter at a news conference in Annapolis, Angela McCaskill said she signed the petition because she supports the democratic process and that she finds the university’s actions to be “utterly wrong.”

“The students are watching. The world is watching,” Ms. McCaskill said. “I ask that the administration makes the right decision and rights their wrongs.”

Ms. McCaskill signed the petition earlier this year at church, after a sermon about marriage, said her attorney, J. Wyndal Gordon. Her signature on the petition had nothing to do with opposition to same-sex marriage, she said. The definition of marriage is a controversial issue in Maryland, and Ms. McCaskill said that she wanted to exercise her right to participate in civil discourse on the issue.

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Pictured: Gallaudet University chief diversity officer Angela McCaskill (left) this week denounced a decision by the school to put her on leave after she signed an anti-gay petition in Maryland. (Photo by Michael Key/Washington Blade)