Fired gay teacher becomes first test of Supreme Court's same-sex marriage ruling

[Behind the Aegis]

Lonnie Billard announced on Facebook in October 2014 that he was going to marry his partner of 14 years, just two weeks after same-sex marriage was legalized in North Carolina. While his engagement was celebrated by family and friends, he found out two months later that is cost him his substitute teaching job at a Catholic school, The Washington Post reported.

Billard sued the school for sex discrimination in 2021 and won. Now, the conservative group Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is challenging that decision, saying last month’sU.S. Supreme Court decision in favor of a web designer who refused to do work that promoted same-sex marriage bolsters its case.

“If the First Amendment protects a business’s decision about which services to offer the public, it … protects a church’s decision about who is religiously qualified to fulfill the mission of a religious school,” the group wrote in a letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in late June.

Litigator for the Becket Fund Luke Goodrich says the challenge is the first time the group cited the Supreme Court decision known as "303 Creative."

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[BigOleDummy]

1. Have a bad feeling about this tbh

Could be the start of rollbacks for same-sex marriage. This version of the Supreme Court seems all too willing to disregard precedent , albeit a recent-ish precedent.

Just a thought ...... if all qualified teachers or at least the vast majority of them just refused to work for religious "schools" then the problem might take care of itself. If you can't use any credits/grades from a school to get into any higher educational institution due to all classes being taught by unqualified priests/pastors etc. then more parents MIGHT have a second thought or three about even sending their children to one.

[SunSeeker]

3. Right wing evangelicals don't care about the quality of their kids' education.

They just want their kids indoctrinated into white Christian nationalism.

[SunSeeker]

2. Another reason why religious schools should not get a penny of tax money. nt

[roomtomove]

4. I believe this not about allowing same sex marraige

but allowing discrimination against same sex marriage couples
misleading title

[TomSlick]

5. This is not about same-sex marriage.

It's about the right of a religious institution to hire and fire based on its religious principles.

I would expect a court to rule that a church school can refuse to hire or discharge people in marriages inconsistent with church teachings.

[LostOne4Ever]

7. I disagree

Or, do you think it would be okay if a group decided to refuse to hire black people (or any racial or ethnic group) and claimed it was because of their religious views that would be okay?

I don’t.

But I do expect the RW SCotUS to side with the school.

[TomSlick]

8. I don't know of a religious group that would admit to refusing to hire based on race.

If one did, I hesitate to speculate how SCOTUS would rule. It seems that "religious freedom" trumps everything these days.

However, there are many religious groups that find same-sex marriage inconsistent with their doctrine. I can't image any court barring the hiring and firing of people whose lives are inconsistent with those doctrines, especially teachers, clergy, etc. A closer call is employment in positions that do not teach religious doctrine.

It's a matter of balancing interests. I think SCOTUS is putting too much weight in religious freedom cases lately but the courts should tread warily in cases involving employment of persons in teaching positions.