Free speech for one side only
Jan 14, 2015, 11:22 AM | Updated: 11:23 am
Imagine that a fire chief self-published a book making the case for
gay marriage, and pleading for greater acceptance of homosexual
relationships.
Is it conceivable the mayor would fire the long-time public servant
for potentially offending some members of his department and citizens
of the city?
That’s the right question to ask and answer regarding the recent
controversy in Atlanta, where Mayor Kasim Reed terminated Fire Chief
Kelvin Cochran for penning a Christian book that describes certain
homosexual acts as “vile, vulgar and inappropriate.”
A city investigation cleared the chief of any discrimination against
gay members of his department, but his 30-year career came to an end
because he didn’t secure prior approval for his book. A fierce court
battle will ensue, but the ugly stench of double-standards remains:
our leaders show far more tolerance for politically correct
pronouncements than for expressions that reflect long-established
tenets of faith-based traditionalism.