Republicans in the Georgia Statehouse say they are tired of spending state dollars on close studies of oral sex and male prostitution.

More specifically, the lawmakers are objecting to university faculty members who have research expertise in those and other areas deemed unnecessary, reports the Associated Press.

Facing a $2.2-billion budget shortfall, the lawmakers say they are working with conservative Christian organizations to pressure the state’s Board of Regents to fire instructors like a University of Georgia professor who teaches a graduate course on queer theory.

“Our job is to educate our people in sciences, business, math,” state Rep. Calvin Hill was quoted as saying by the news service. Professors aren’t going to meet those needs “by teaching a class in queer theory,” he added. The lawmakers took aim at some of the faculty members after reading about them in an annual guide to faculty experts issued by one of the universities for publicity purposes.

University officials responded by explaining that the instructors were not teaching “how-to” courses, but on the sociological issues surrounding topics such as oral sex and male prostitution.

“Teaching courses in criminal justice, for example, does not mean that our students are being prepared to become criminals,” a Georgia State University spokeswoman, Andrea Jones, told the AP. “Quite the opposite. Legitimate research and teaching are central to the development of relevant and effective policy.” —Eric Kelderman