The Liberty Counsel has sent a “demand letter” to the East Baton Rouge Parish Library in Louisiana on behalf of Luke Ash, a bivocational pastor at Stevendale Baptist Church, who was fired from his job as a library services technician for refusing to use preferred pronouns for a female coworker.
The Liberty Counsel is a Christian ministry that engages in legal matters to promote evangelical Christian values.
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The Oct. 17 letter claims the dismissal violates the Louisiana Constitution, the Louisiana Protection of Religious Freedom Act, the First Amendment, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Liberty Counsel argues that the library’s inclusivity policy compels speech contrary to Ash’s religious beliefs about human sexuality.
The group is demanding Ash’s reinstatement with back pay and a revision of the library’s policy by Nov. 10. Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver said the library acted unlawfully, adding that “employers cannot force people to choose between their faith and their livelihood.”
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story is a summary of a report originally published by the Baptist Message.
