Atlanta Kasim Reed will not back down from 'religious liberty' controversy

I have to give MAJOR PROPS to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.  He is catching a huge amount of flack for his dismissal of former city fire chief Kelvin Cochran.

While Cochran's supporters claim that this is an issue of religious persecution, Reed has contended that this is an issue of bad judgement and behavior by Cochran.

And he is not back down. In the following interview with MSNBC's Tamron Hall, Mayor Reed makes his points eloquently  but forcefully. In doing so, he is a model for us all when we are called anti-Christian bigots because we believe in fairness and respect for all:

Related posts:

 Atlanta's Mayor Dismantles "Religious Freedom" Defense Of Terminated Anti-Gay Fire Chief

Does Kelvin Cochran's definition of religious liberty justify his dismissal? Probably so

Stopping an anti-gay smear BEFORE it gains power

Today comes news that a pro-lgbt cake shop in Colorado is being sued on the grounds of religious discrimination.

But all is not what it seems. According to The New Civil Rights Movement:

If you want a wedding cake, the Azucar Bakery in Denver wants to make one for you. Gay, straight, they don't care. A walk through their Facebook photos shows a vast assortment of cakes and desserts, which may be one of the reasons owner Marjorie Silva (photo above) won an award for Best Wedding Cake at the 2012 Colorado Chocolate Festival. Recently, an older man walked into the bakery and asked for a bible-shaped cake, which was "no problem at all," Silva tells OutFront. In fact, she says she makes Christian-themed cakes "all the time."

The man pulled out a piece of paper with the words he wanted written on the cake, but he would not hand it over.

"He wanted us to write God hates …" one of the employees, Lindsey, told OutFront. "Just really radical stuff against gays."

"He wouldn’t allow me to make a copy of the message, but it was really hateful," Marjorie says. "I remember the words detestable, disgrace, homosexuality, and sinners."

"I told him that I would bake the cake in the shape of a Bible," says Marjorie. "Then I told him I’d sell him a [decorating] bag with the right tip and the right icing so he could write those things himself."

"He told me I needed to talk to my attorney about this," Marjorie adds, saying he then left the bakery, only to return a few hours later, to ask if she had contacted her lawyer. She had not. Lindsey says she thinks the man "was looking for trouble, and describes him as "being really pushy and disruptive."

Silva has since been notified by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) that a discrimination complaint against the bakery has been filed. In the response to the complaint, Lindsay wrote that the man "wanted an open book with the words 'god hates homosexuality' and a 'no' sign over two men. He also wanted a scripture and the Ghostbusters logo."

This man doesn't have a legal leg to stand on. The bakery didn't refuse his service even when the owners felt what he wanted to put on the cake was offensive. And it even offered to sell him a cake bag so he could do the writing himself.  It's clear that the man was looking for a reason - however unjustifiable - to sue. I cringe to think how far he would have taken it if the bakery had agreed to decorate the cake.

Now reasonably, this would be the end of it. However,  add an anti-gay network of bloggers, organizations, and fake news sources, you have the recipe for an homophobic cause celebre which would flood the airwaves and state Congressional halls with cries of anti-Christian persecution before the truth even has a chance to put on its shoes.

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Mississippi schools under fire over efforts to curb Gay-Straight Alliance - It's amazing how ignorant some folks are when it comes to students wanting to start gay/straight alliance clubs. The sad thing is that all it would take is for these folks to establish a dialogue with the students wanting to start the clubs. But as it is, they want to do things the hard way. Have at it. 

GOP Censures Anti-Gay Republican - I am SO not impressed. This should have happened to Dave Agema a long time ago. It was when he demonstrated himself to be a racist as well as a homophobe that Republicans are getting "alarmed" enough to censure him. 

More information from 2013 - Dave Agema saga exposes the lies of the anti-gay right

Lawmaker Wants To Pay Students $2,500 If They See A Transgender Person In The ‘Wrong’ Bathroom - Oh good Lord! I think we should get more alarmed at lawmakers stirring up fear about this nonexistent issue of our transgender brothers and sisters using bathrooms.  

Judge: Michigan Must Recognize 300-Plus Gay Marriages - Decision stayed for 21 days but still an awesome victory.  

Anti-gay ‘religious freedom’ discrimination bill on way to N.C. - Oh brother! Here we go, here we go!  

World Congress of Families Spokesman: 'Russia Is The Hope For the World Right Now' - What in gay hell . . .

Anti-gay leader Tony Perkins prefers hyperbole to actual debate

Far be it from Family Research Council Tony Perkins to discuss the actual facts when it comes to the dismissal of former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran.

He prefers hyperbole and false claims about how folks would rather shut down "Christians" like him rather than debate issues. Of course one of the grand ironies is that Perkins pointedly refuses to debate lgbts on issues:

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Ellen DeGeneres Fires Back at Christian Post for Alleging Hollywood Gay Agenda (Video) - The religious right learns the hard not to call out Ellen DeGeneres because she is NO shrinking violet and WILL answer. As satisfying as the incident is, it also underscores a sad reality. To some people, us lgbts being open, honest, and proud of who we are is a violation of their so-called "religious liberty" Not living our lives in accordance to their ignorance is a violation of their so-called "religious liberty." 

A New Center In The Bronx Will Focus On Gay Seniors - Awesome and much needed!

Colorado church under fire for stopping woman’s funeral because she was gay - Tacky. Just plain tacky as well as wrong.  

Texas Republican Lawmakers Aim To Nullify LGBT Nondiscrimination Protections Covering 7.5 Million People - When there is a backlash to the advancement of equality, don't get scared. Fight harder for equality.  

Texas Lawmakers Already Have Three Different Ideas For Anti-LGBT Laws - More on that issue. These folks are running scared.

Anti-gay leader Tony Perkins despises Nazi, Holocaust imagery . . . unless HE gets to use it

Perkins

Tony Perkins of the anti-gay Family Research Council reached the pinnacle of blind audacity tonight. In an email blast, he sent the following:

If anyone is guilty of "virulent views," try the Left! It's a prime example of the pot calling the cake pan black in Colorado, where member of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission was caught on tape calling Christian baker Jack Phillips a "Nazi" for politely turning down a same-sex "wedding" order.

Diann Rice, part of the board who is deciding Jack's fate, is the one on the hot seat now that audio of her July comments have leaked to the press, in which she said the "freedom of religion has been used to justify all kinds of discrimination throughout history, whether it be slavery, whether it be the Holocaust...(T)o me, it is one of the most despicable pieces of rhetoric that people can use..."

I should point out that Rice is not on any hot seat. The claim that she is in trouble is a tactic used by conservatives and the anti-gay right. Their allies on right-wing blogs, fake news sites (such as The Daily Signal via the Heritage Foundation) and various other propaganda sites (i.e. Fox News or The Washington Times - where the story is coming from) will play up the story, giving the false idea of a controversy.

In the mainstream media, no one really cares.  What's more, if one reads the article, he or she would discover that Rice never called anyone a "Nazi." The word never came out of her mouth. She said:

"I would also like to reiterate what we said in the last meeting [on Mr. Phillips]. Freedom of religion and religion has been used to justify all kinds of discrimination throughout history, whether it be slavery, whether it be the Holocaust."

I personally fail to see how Rice is wrong here I made that same statement two years ago in my booklet, How They See Us (pg. 2). 

But there is rich irony in the fact that Perkins can dare take the high road and "grasp at the pearls" in shock  because HE has used Holocaust and Nazi imagery in the past.

Does Kelvin Cochran's definition of religious liberty justify his dismissal? Probably so

Cochran

The situation involving former Atlanta chief Kelvin Cochran heated up today with a rally in his honor, new details about the investigation which led to his firing, and what I would call mind-bogglingly ignorant comments by Cochran which underscores just why his firing may have been appropriate.

From Think Progress:

The leader of the Family Research Council (FRC), a socially conservative organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center labeled an anti-gay hate group in 2010, plans to join conservative pastors and “religious liberty advocates” at an Atlanta rally on Tuesday supporting a former senior city official who was fired after he expressed hostility towards gay people. Last week, Atlanta’s former fire chief, Kelvin Cochran, was dismissed due to a self-published book Cochran authored entitled Who Told You That You Were Naked? In that book, Cochran attacks “uncleanness — whatever is opposite of purity; including sodomy, homosexuality, lesbianism, pederasty, bestiality, all other forms of sexual perversion,” and he describes sex between two men as a “vile, vulgar and inappropriate” act that “defile[s] their body-temple and dishonor[s] God.”

In announcing his decision to fire Cochran, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (D) cited the city’s nondiscrimination policy, adding that anyone who “creates an environment where that is a concern” will not remain a city employee.

FRC is presenting this as a case of religious discrimination — “If a government will fire someone for their religious beliefs, no beliefs are safe from government regardless of how sacred those beliefs may be,” accorrding to FRC’s press release — but that’s a red herring. Cochran was not fired because the city objects to his identity as a Christian. Indeed, Mayor Reed is also a Christian. Rather, Cochran was fired because of concerns that his now very public anti-gay views would create a work environment that was not welcoming to his gay subordinates. Mayor Reed also claims that Cochran published his anti-gay book without following protocols for seeking approval from city officials.

Meanwhile, according to a local Atlanta newstation, details came out about just who Cochran distributed his book to on his job, which contradicts his original story:

The 30-day report says that Cochran did not have the authority to publish the book, which is required by the city's code of ordinances. The report also says Cochran distributed the book to at least nine subordinates at work. According to the report, at least three of those who received the book said it had been given to them unsolicited.

In addition, the report says Cochran gave the book, unsolicited, to a battalion chief during a professional one-on-one meeting. The purpose of the meeting, the report said, was to discuss what the battalion chief needed to do to prepare himself for appointment to the position of assistant chief. The assistant chief's position in the Atlanta Fire Department is the only sworn position that a fire chief may appoint at his sole discretion. All other sworn positions in the fire department are filled through a pre-determined selection process.

The report describes a consensus among employees interviewed in conjunction with the investigation that publication of the book undermined Cochran's ability to lead the fire department. According to the report, continued assertions that Cochran was fired for his religious beliefs were demonstrably false.

"Mr. Cochran and I are both men of faith," Reed said in a statement released on Tuesday. "My decision has nothing to do with his religion and everything to do with his judgment and conduct as the leader of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department and a member of my Cabinet. Mr. Cochran ignored the City's Ethics Code which establish a clear protocol which must be followed before a Commissioner may engage in private activity for pay. Mr. Cochran made numerous judgment decisions regarding the book that are unacceptable for a leader in City of Atlanta government: he sold the Book without the requisite approval; he authored the book identifying himself as the Atlanta Fire Chief; he distributed the book at work, despite the fact that its content expressed opinions which are contrary to the City's and my personal commitment to nondiscrimination; he exposed the City to potential litigation from employees; and he published the book without ever mentioning it to me. Mr. Cochran's decisions as a City official, not his religion, resulted in his termination."

But what caught my eye were comments Cochran made in this story:

"LGBT citizens deserve the right to express their belief regarding sexual orientation and deserve to be respected for their position without hate and discrimination, but Christians also have the right to express their beliefs as well," Cochran said.

Cochran seems to think that lgbts and Christians are diametrically opposed to each other.  His statement reveals a troubling mindset with regards to lgbts.  He seems to be saying that the rights of gays to live our lives openly and freely in the workplace is the same as his nonexistent right to denigrate us for doing so.

Is Cochran saying that if gay employees have the right to talk about, put pictures up, or even receive visits from their loved ones and children at work, he is perfectly justified in labeling them as sinners in the same environment?

If that is the case, then Cochran has a very screwed up idea of "religious liberty." People should be free to talk about their families and their marriages at work without fear of being denigrated simply because another employee has a religious belief against these marriages and families. And if being proud of your loved ones and family is somehow a slight to someone's religious beliefs, that's not your problem. That problem lies with the person espousing the religious belief.

I don't see how Cochran can compare the two scenarios and I would love for him elaborate on what he meant.

Editor's note - Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is taking a lot of heat from ignorant people because he stood up for the lgbt community. Please show him your support by retweeting the following editorial by the New York Times which supports his actions and tweeting support at @kasimreed #IStandWithKasim or #ReedWasRight 

Seriously, folks. We need to stand up for those who go to bat for us. Lord knows it's not easy .