A Muslim-American man who wanted to enroll in the New York City Police Department’s Police Academy is suing the NYPD, claiming his religious liberty rights were violated because he was denied a job after saying he wants to lock up all gay people.
At stake are supposed issues of religious liberty, as well as First Amendment freedom of speech.
The New York Post identifies the man suing the Police Department as “Farhan Doe,” and reports:
Doe deserves to be in the NYPD, despite checking the “yes” box next to the question, “Do you believe that homosexuals should be locked up,” in 2009, when he applied, said his lawyer, Jerold Levine.
When Doe — who works as an auxiliary cop in Brooklyn — applied to the Police Academy the next year, he’d softened his views, still believing homosexuality is a sin, but no longer believing gays should be arrested, Levine said.
“They pro forma denied him again — saying he couldn’t possibly be a police officer,” the lawyer said. “The First Amendment is very clear, saying that you can’t discriminate against someone because they have a view you do not like,” he said.
While the NYPD could take action if he acted out in an anti-gay manner, they can’t bar Doe from the force for anti-gay thoughts, the lawyer said.
The Advocate adds:
This question of whether discrimination is actually religious liberty is surfacing all over the country, with a New Mexico court ruling earlier this month that a wedding photographer couldn’t cite the Bible as a reason to deny service to a customer because of a state anti-discrimination law.
And in several cases of school teachersusing Facebook to broadcast statements against same-sex marriage and homosexuality in general, lawyers have argued it’s free speech that shouldn’t lead to losing their jobs.
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{ 3 comments }
Discrimination under the guise of religious liberty is still discrimination and SHOULD NOT be protected speech. The man is a declared homophobe who has advocated the illegal detention of people based on their sexual preference. There is no way this man is qualified to serve the public in ANY capacity, let alone one as important as the police force. Good for you, NYPD.
This guy has to know what it's like to be discriminated against due to him being a Muslim. And I know that Islam strictly forbids homosexuality, but he is in America, not the Middle East or SW Asia.
He should know better.
Believing that they should be arrested and stating that he'd actively work to arrest them are two different things. They should not be allowed to hire or fire someone based on the opinions they may have, however, those opinions may make them scrutinize the applicant more thoroughly for inappropriate behavior.
That question in particular does not have any bearing on his abilities to perform his job in a successful and appropriate manner. A similar question might ask if a man believes that all Republicans should be arrested. Were he to receive the job, that question would have no relevance so long as he did not act on those beliefs. However, it could be used as evidence were he later found of misconduct.
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