Teacher Opposed to Gay Marriage Could be Fired

It's not about ideas. It's about beliefs. And you damn well better not stand in the way of theirs. They don't give a shit about any other freedoms or liberties but the right to flaunt their lifestyles in front of America. And I said lifestyle, not rights. Hell it's gone beyond the "rights" that was part of the original movement.

 

In a vast majority of states, gays don't have the legal right to marry the adult of their choice.

Last I checked, in most states, Christians have the legal right to marry the adult of their choice.

So how has this gone beyond "rights" when they don't have the right to do what every other adult has the right to do?

 

Its about freedom of expression, not gay rights. The guy is being fired because of his opinion. Gay marriage is illegal in Florida. I'd own the school district if I was him.

 

Next thing you know they'll flunk a student for writing a paper opposing it.

 

Where ya been, pal? I thought this thread would have given off the bat signal!

Yeah, fine, he is being fired for his opinion. As his opinion is "I hate you simply because of who you are" and he is in charge of teaching young people history and government and such, that's OK by me.

 

If the paper used the words "cesspool" and "vomit" and "God will not be mocked," it would receive an F purely on merit.

 

If I'm an administrator, I'd be concerned if a teacher, in a reasonably public forum, said something like, "I'm sick of those Bible-thumping jerks seeking to infiltrate secular government."
But I am really torn on this one. I think where you express views is at issue.

 

He didn't just oppose it. He expressed his disgust in regards to homosexuality.

 

No matter when you do something or say something, you represent your employer. He can't turn off being a schoolteacher just because he's logging onto Facebook on his downtime away from the school building.

He posted something that very quickly became available for public consumption. There are ways to keep your posts from the prying eyes of the outside world on Facebook. He chose not to use them. He chose to exercise his right to free speech. Now he has to deal with the responsibility that comes from it. If that means he loses his job, so be it.

I doubt very seriously my employer would tolerate an anti-gay rant of that sort. It prides itself on getting perfect scores from the Human Rights Campaign and has donated to The Trevor Project.

The law and precedents are on the school's side here for a good reason.

 

Do we know if any students were Facebook friends or if this page was public? Either of those could change his platform from that as a private citizen to a representative of his work.

There's a reason I lock my personal Facebook page up and don't friend my bosses or sources until well after I leave that paper.

 

Is your employer a branch of the United States government?

 

This teacher's employer isn't.