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Sorry if the topic has already been discussed. I looked through two pages of threads here to see if it was already brought up.
So what if he distributed the book? How is that any different than just telling a coworker your opinion on a topic? Did he force people to read the book? No, they could have thrown it away. He was still fired for his beliefs when you stripe away the typical pompous left rhetoric.
The Chief can believe anything he wants, but as top dog, he has no right to spread his personal views to his underlings by handing them copies of his book.
That's just the same as a corporate leader announcing those who work for him that doesn't share his views will have to worry about keeping their jobs. If the book is filled with hateful thoughts, that's intimidation.
If, however, the Chief had simply left a few copies in a firehouse, along with a donation box so whoever wanted to read the book could pay for it, then it's a different story, as long as no fire fighter refuses to put out a fire in a gay couple's home because they are gay.
A public servant serves all the public, not just those who share similar beliefs. The appearance of hostility toward any group creates the impression that their safety and security is officially jeopardized. Saying nothing for the Mayor is saying the Mayor silently agreed with the Chief's extremist views. Silence implies acceptance these days when it comes to officials.
The Chief was exactly like the wacko Sheriff in Pennsylvania who openly stated he would shoot to kill any homosexual he encountered, and showed it by running clips of ammo on full automatic fire through his machine guns. he got fires, too, and rightly so.
Intimidation comes in many forms, but the intent is always the same.
But when a fire chief - presumably someone who can promote, hire and fire - uses his workplace to distribute literature that makes it clear that he strongly believes that some of those under his management are lesser human beings, then his superiors are quite within their rights to find him unsuited to carry out their (non-discriminatory) personnel policies.
The Atlanta police department already created a ruckus by raiding a gay bar a few years ago on some bogus pretext. That cost the city tons of money so they were no doubt wary about having a fire chief who expressed anti-gay views.
Hatred arising from religion, superstition, belief in an invisible sky daddy, and adherence to a book written thousands of years ago by nomadic, sheep herding Jews is the true perversion and a sign of mental illness.
And revering a passage meant for exit only is perverted and disgusting.
Jesus never said anything against sex with minors either so does that make it right? Argument from silence is a weak argument. The Bible is crystal clear that homosexuality is an offense against God.
There are a bunch of things that are in the Bible now that say things are against God you probably don't have any problem with and possibly do yourself.
And revering a passage meant for exit only is perverted and disgusting.
Diminishing the life of an entire person to one single sex act, an act performed by more hetero couples than gay couples, is perverted and disgusting.
Once again you Bible thumpers spend more time worrying about gay sex, gay marriage, and gays in general than any gay I've ever known. Just come out the closet already. Stop hating yourself and give yourself the right to be fabulous!!
City and county employees who are in leadership positions such as Police Chiefs and Fire Chiefs and City Managers are held up to a higher standard of what they can say or publish. If they give the appearance of denouncing or damning a minority group they have lost credibility and their fairness is called into question.
There are plenty of instances where so-called "freedom of speech" does have limits placed on it and the US Supreme Court has ruled on these limits.
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