Now joining the ranks of cake bakers, wedding photographers, website designers and other evangelical Christians suing to avoid the appearance of supporting homosexuality is a fire fighter in Southern California.
Jeffrey Little is a captain with the Los Angeles County Fire Department who objects to working in fire stations where gay Pride flags are displayed.
According to a news release from his attorneys at the Thomas More Society, Little objects to being forced to raise the Progress Pride Flag at the stations where he works. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Little objects to working within sight of the flag.
Based on his objection, he was assigned to a station that, at the time, did not fly the Pride flag because it did not have the correct poles to match the flag, the Times reported. But soon after, three Pride flags were brought to the station and flown.
“I was under the impression that I would not have to deal with working in these conditions.”
“I was confused (as) to why they were flying as I was under the impression that I would not have to deal with working in these conditions,” he wrote in a complaint filed June 22.
Then Little personally took down all three flags, according to the suit, as reported by the Times. Now he is suing the city, claiming his religious freedom is violated by the presence of the LGBTQ-friendly flags.
He previously worked at Will Rogers Beach, home to a historically LGBTQ friendly section known as Ginger Rogers Beach, the newspaper said. Officials with both the City of Los Angeles and L.A. County have asked that Pride flags be flown at government buildings, and last year, the county Board of Supervisors voted to require some government buildings fly the Progress Pride flag throughout Pride month, which traditionally is June.
The news release from Thomas More Society says Little has “suffered religious discrimination, harassment and retaliation at the hands of the Los Angeles County Fire Department” for refusing to participate in raising the flag.
His lawyers allege that Division Chief Fernando Boiteux told Little, “You are an LA County employee, that’s the only thing that matters,” and, “Your religious beliefs do not matter.”
The federal lawsuit claims the Fire Department failed to accommodate Little’s religious beliefs, as required by the United States Constitution and federal and state civil rights law.
“Captain Jeffrey Little is an upstanding American, a devout Christian father and a public servant who has honorably served the Los Angeles County Fire Department for over 22 years,” said Paul Jonna, Thomas More Society special counsel and a partner at the law firm LiMandri and Jonna. “He courageously stood on principle and asked for a simple religious accommodation — which he is rightfully and legally due — only to be first denied, then threatened, harassed, discriminated and retaliated against for his widely shared Christian religious beliefs. In our great country, Americans can’t even be forced to salute the American flag as a condition of government employment. Yet, in this case, the L.A. County Fire Department seeks to force Captain Little to personally raise the Progress Pride Flag in violation of his sincere and deeply held religious beliefs — or face termination.”
Thomas More Society frequently represents evangelical Christians who claim their religious freedom has been violated and who seek exemption from interacting with the LGBTQ community. They also are involved in anti-abortion legislation.
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