Religious Bias Issues Debated After Atlanta Mayor’s Dismissal of Fire Chief

[cbayer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/12/us/atlanta-mayor-kasim-reeds-dismissal-of-fire-chief-kelvin-cochran-ignites-religious-bias-debate.html?_r=0

By RICHARD FAUSSET
JAN. 11, 2015


Kevin Cochran, the Atlanta fire chief, was fired on Tuesday for handing our copies of his Christian self-help book that denounces homosexuality. Credit John E. Davidson/Getty Images

ATLANTA — Mayor Kasim Reed’s decision to dismiss his fire chief last week for giving co-workers copies of a Christian self-help book condemning homosexuality is fanning new kinds of legal and political flames in this city, where deeply held religious convictions exist in a kind of defining tension with a reputation for New South tolerance.

Mr. Reed fired Kelvin Cochran, the chief, on Tuesday over the distribution of his book, which condemns homosexual acts as “vile, vulgar and inappropriate.” Reached at home on Thursday, Mr. Cochran referred all questions to his lawyers, who issued a statement on his behalf.

“I am heartbroken that I will no longer be able to serve the city and the people I love as fire chief, for no reason other than my Christian faith,” Mr. Cochran said in the statement released by the Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based conservative legal organization that is representing him. “It’s ironic that the city points to tolerance and inclusion as part of its reasoning. What could be more intolerant and exclusionary than ending a public servant’s 30 years of distinguished service for his religious beliefs?”

Those sentiments are particularly weighty in Atlanta, where the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a hometown hero, remains a moral guidepost for governance. As a legal matter, the spat may eventually be settled in court: Greg Scott, a spokesman for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said that the chief and his lawyers were “currently assessing legal options” that might “vindicate his right to free speech.”

more at link

[on point]

1. He crossed the line separating church and state. Deserved firing

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Yet while he was chief he wanted to punish firefighters who backed Chic-Fil-A's anti-gay stance

http://www.projectq.us/atlanta/atlanta_fire_chief_disciplined_chickfila_backers?gid=16446

[cbayer]

4. Well, that's ironic, isn't it?

He followed the disciplinary protocol in that case but objects to being held to the same standard.

[Gothmog]

3. This fire chief is a homophobe

His extreme views affected his job performance

[cbayer]

6. He most certainly is.

Why in the world he thought that this would be ok escapes me. He didn't even follow the protocol required to get permission to publish.

[atreides1]

5. "Deeply held religious convictions"

For those on the right is nothing more then a BS reason to be bigots and racists without being called out on it!!!

[cbayer]

7. Oh, he is being called on it all right.