We all have the absolute right to believe whatever we want about God, faith and religion. We have the right to act on our beliefs, unless those actions harm others.
Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran’s harmful and extreme comments about women, Jewish people and gay and transgender people — which he distributed at work — hurt all employees by creating a hostile work environment for those who do not share his views. No hardworking employees should live in fear of losing their jobs or being treated unfairly because they do not share the religious beliefs of their boss.
That is why Georgia Equality would like to thank Mayor Kasim Reed for his decision to terminate the employment of Cochran. While the termination of the fire chief was ultimately the result of his failure to abide by city protocol in publishing and distributing his book, Reed was diligent in determining the facts and impact of Cochran’s mixing of his personal religious beliefs with his role as leader of the Atlanta Fire Department. We are grateful for the mayor’s commitment to Atlanta’s nondiscrimination policy.
To be sure, Cochran’s views had an impact on the work environment of a department dedicated to saving the lives and property of citizens of Atlanta. The official report states clearly that: “There was a consistent sentiment among the witnesses that firefighters throughout the organization are appalled by the sentiments expressed in the book. There also is general agreement the contents of the book have eroded trust and have compromised the ability of the chief to provide leadership in the future.”
It is precisely the damage done to morale that led the Atlanta Firefighter’s Union to issue their statement in support of the mayor’s actions: “Atlanta Professional Firefighters Local 134 would like to commend Mayor Reed and his administration for their decision to terminate Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran. Local 134 supports LGBT rights and equality among all employees. Atlanta Professional Firefighters believe we should take this opportunity work with the City Council and the Reed administration to improve LGBT rights by adding an LGBT liaison for the Fire Department. We look forward to working with the City Council and mayor and hope to provide any assistance they need going forward.”
Atlantans, just like citizens of any other Georgia municipality, depend on first responders who are able to focus on their jobs without the fear they may be judged not on their performance, but on who they are.
We hope members of the General Assembly look at this situation with a careful eye when they consider the need for a state Religious Freedom Restoration Act. If one existed in Georgia, Cochran could use it to claim that his religion gives him the right to ignore laws.
Unlike our constitutional protections for freedom of religion, this proposed new law would put an individual’s religious beliefs ahead of the common good. It would allow individuals to claim that any number of laws don’t apply to them. A hotel owner who objects to cohabitation outside of marriage could refuse to provide a room to an unmarried couple. A landlord who believes a man should be head of a household could refuse to rent an apartment to a single mother. A homeless shelter that receives government funding to provide social services could refuse shelter to a gay couple by saying it goes against its religious beliefs.
We do not want a broad, ill-defined law that could allow some people to use one set of religious beliefs to hurt or discriminate against others. If this challenging situation with Cochran reminds us of anything, it’s that one of our most important values is treating others the way we want to be treated. Creating new laws that go against that principle hurts us all.
Jeff Graham is executive director of Georgia Equality, an advocacy organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
