An all-girls Catholic school in Massachusetts that was found to have discriminated against a gay cafeteria worker when it found out he was married to a man has reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum of money with the worker in question, The Boston Globereports.
Matthew Barrett, of Dorchester, was hired as food services director at Fontbonne Academy in Milton, Mass., in July 2013. As part of the new-hire paperwork, Barrett listed his husband, Ed Suplee, as his emergency contact. But school officials, citing Catholic Church teaching opposing homosexuality, fired him two days later.
Barrett filed suit, claiming he had been discriminated against, in violation of Massachusetts’ nondiscrimination law prohibiting disparate treatment based on sexual orientation. But lawyers for Fontbonne Academy argued that the school was legally permitted to discriminate under religious exemptions that were carved out and provided to religiously-affiliated entities in order to pass the LGBT nondiscrimination law through the Catholic-dominated Massachusetts General Court, or legislature.
But Fontbonne lost when the case came before the Massachusetts Superior Court. In a ruling in December, Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins said the religious exemption did not apply to the school because Fontbonne accepts non-Catholic students and employees, regardless of their faith. According to Wilkins, the statutory exemption only applies to organizations that seek to limit membership or admission to adherents of a certain religion.
Wilkins also noted that the First Amendment’s protections for religious expression did not apply, as hiring a food service worker who happened to be married to a same-sex spouse would not interfere with Fontbonne’s ability to express its opposition to same-sex marriages, including in the classroom.
By settling with Barrett for the undisclosed amount of money, Fontbonne gives up its right to appeal the case. That comes as a surprise to many, as right-wing and Catholic-affiliated groups had decried the lawsuit as an attack on religious freedom. But Fontbonne Academy said in a statement that it was “pleased” that the lawsuit had been resolved, thanking Barrett for “his willingness to come together with us in a spirit of conciliation.”
Barrett told the Globe he was happy the legal ordeal was over, adding that he just hopes a similar situation doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“This is a case that there was not a factual dispute about whether discrimination occurred, but whether they had a permissible reason,” Ben Klein, a lawyer with GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) who represented Barrett in the lawsuit. “They do not.”
Klein also noted that Barrett’s case could have larger implications for future lawsuits, adding that he hopes it sends a message to other employers who wish to discriminate under the guise of religious freedom.
“This is the first case in the country to rule that an employer has no religious justification for discrimination,” he said. “Everyone deserves to be treated on their merits, and not based on whom they love or any other protective category.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz appeared at the Human Rights Campaign's National Dinner in Washington, D.C. on September 7, seeking to activate the LGBTQ communities -- including potential donors and campaign volunteers -- to back his running mate, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, in November's upcoming federal elections.
The Democratic vice presidential nominee played to the party's base in his speech, appealing to a key constituency within the Democratic-leaning coalition by hitting on several major accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration regarding LGBTQ issues.
Michael Knowles argued during a recent episode of his show that gay couples aren't fit to raise children because they lack attributes or qualities possessed by those of the opposite gender that are essential to child-rearing.
The right-wing windbag was defending University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax, who made racially insensitive, sexist, and homophobic comments in class. Wax also invited a white supremacist to address one of her classes.
The University punished Wax, who has a history of controversial statements, with a suspension and docked her pay by half. It also stripped her of her endowed chair as the Robert Mundheim Professor of Law, and is blocking her from receiving summer pay in perpetuity.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued several policies expanding various types of restrictions that will stop transgender adherents of the religion from fully participating in church life.
The policies, adopted last month as part of a broader update to the church’s General Handbook, ban transgender individuals from working with children in religious settings, serving as teachers, and becoming priests.
The LDS church also expanded an existing rule preventing transgender individuals from being baptized.
Under the new rules, transgender individuals are likely to face annotation on their membership records, grouping them with individuals who have engaged in criminal behavior, such as incest, sexual assault, predatory behavior, or embezzlement of church funds, reports NBC News.
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