A devout Evangelical Christian (Read: Fundie Freak) has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court claiming religious discrimination because he has issues with the Pride Flag. Longtime Los Angeles County Fire Department lifeguard, Capt. Jeffrey Little, claims that the county’s policy requiring him to raise the Pride Flag constitutes religious discrimination.
Last year, the county’s Board of Supervisors voted to require that many government buildings — including the facilities where Little worked at Will Rogers Beach, home to an LGBTQ-friendly section known as Ginger Rogers Beach — fly the Progress Pride Flag throughout June, which is Pride Month. Captain Little was suspended from his job last year for removing three flags because they hurt his deeply held religious beliefs that somehow he thinks he can inflict on others.
“The views commonly associated with the Progress Pride Flag on marriage, sex, and family are in direct conflict with Captain Little’s bona fide and sincerely held religious beliefs on the same subjects,” according to the suit filed in Los Angeles federal court. “His bona fide and sincerely held religious beliefs require him to reject those views.”
A representative for the L.A. County Fire Department, which oversees lifeguards, said the department cannot comment on personnel issues or any ongoing litigation.
