The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a front-page report on federal Judge Leigh May holding a Friday hearing on the lawsuit Cochran v. City of Atlanta involving the firing of former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran by Mayor Kasim Reed for writing a book on Christian faith. A headline read: “His book calls non-Christian gay men ‘naked.’”
But that headline doesn’t tell the full story.
The Alliance Defending Freedom is representing the former chief, with its senior counsel Kevin Theriot arguing that the city unjustly fired Cochran because of his religious beliefs. Last Friday’s hearing was prompted because the court in 2015 allowed the lawsuit to go forward on Cochran’s primary claims of retaliation, discrimination based on his viewpoint and the violation of his constitutionally protected freedoms of religion, association, and due process (firing without following proper procedure).
Theriot stressed that the city’s arguments themselves confirm Cochran’s claim that the city fired him for holding and expressing religious beliefs city officials didn’t like. “A religious or ideological test can’t be used to fire a public servant, but that’s what the city did, as the facts of this case clearly demonstrate. Chief Cochran is one of the most accomplished fire chiefs in the nation, but the city’s actions place every city employee in jeopardy who may hold to a belief that city officials don’t like,” Theriot said. After activists who don’t agree with Cochran’s Christian views on sex and marriage complained about a brief mention of the topics in a 162-page book Cochran had written, Reed suspended Cochran for 30 days without pay and said he had to undergo so-called “sensitivity training,” an ADF statement says. Reed then fired him, even though a city investigation concluded that he did not discriminate against anyone.
“I want to be clear that the material in Chief Cochran’s book is not representative of my personal beliefs and is inconsistent with the administration’s work to make Atlanta a more welcoming city for all citizens…,” Reed said in November 2014 to explain why he suspended Cochran. That same month, Councilman Alex Wan told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “I respect each individual’s right to have their own thoughts, beliefs and opinions, but when you’re a city employee and those thoughts, beliefs and opinions are different from the city’s, you have to check them at the door.”
As for that newspaper headline, Theriot noted that Cochran knows everyone struggles with sin. But Theriot said the city’s lawyers “completely mischaracterized” the book when saying Cochran wrote that God would rejoice when the so-called “naked” perished. Cochran describes non-Christians as the “naked” and says he wrote his book— on his own time– to introduce “the naked” to Christian principles so as to achieve salvation and forgiveness of sins. The city used that as a basis for his termination.
Judge May admits the case s “complex,” and she could render a decision by Christmas on all the legal issues involved. Or, the judge said, there is a chance there could be a jury trial on issues that cannot be settled.
Cochran lives in Atlanta and now works for his church.
