On July 21 the city of San Diego hosted a "gay pride" parade in which they forced the city firefighters to participate in. Imagine if the company you worked for forced you to take part in a "gay day." They were not even given the choice to opt out of this parade. Forcing these men and women to participate in something like this is nothing short of sexual harassment and exploitation. The firefighter's that were subjected to this are suing the city for sexual harassment charges, are rightly so.
If this were a Christian parade the ACLU would be claiming that religion was forced upon these fire fighters and they'd be suing the city, just like they did with a public school that had a "Christmas" play.
If the company I worked for hosted any kind of homosexual event and forced me to go you'd bet I'd sue too. No one should be forced by their employer, especially under threat of losing their jobs, to attend any kind of event that compromises their beliefs and values, especially a sexually explicit one. This is definitely sexual harassment and is unacceptable.
San Diego Firefighters Claim Harassment
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
By ALLISON HOFFMAN, Associated Press Writer
SAN DIEGO —
Four firefighters are pressing sexual harassment claims against the city's fire department after they were taunted while driving a fire engine in a gay pride parade last month, an attorney said Monday.
The men claim their battalion chief ordered them to ride in the July 21 parade through San Diego's Hillcrest neighborhood, according to their attorney, Stephen Stirling. The firefighters followed the order out of concern they would otherwise be suspended or punished.
During the parade, the firefighters said, bystanders taunted them with sexually explicit comments and colleagues called to tease them for participating in the event.
"I was forced into a situation that would compromise what I hold true and what I believe in," engineer Jason Hewitt said in a statement.
The four contend the department failed to protect them from sexual harassment and didn't immediately act to correct the situation, Stirling said.
Their lawyers sent a letter Wednesday to the state Department of Fair Employment and Housing seeking right-to-sue notices, a first step toward a lawsuit. The Thomas More Law Center, a conservative Christian legal organization based in Michigan, is helping represent the plaintiffs.
Fire department spokesman Maurice Luque said the four men, who were assigned to a fire station in the parade route area, were called in after another crew that had volunteered to participate canceled at the last minute because one firefighter had a family emergency.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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