US: Editor fired for homophobic blog post sues for ‘religious discrimination’
A newspaper editor dismissed for a homophobic blog post has announced he will sue his former employer for religious discrimination.
Bob Eschliman, who edited the Newton Daily News in Iowa, was fired in April for claiming that “the LGBTQXYZ crowd and the Gaystapo” were trying to edit the Bible “to make their sinful nature ‘right with God’”, and that “we must fight back against the enemy”.
Eschliman is now taking Shaw Media to court for what he claims was a dismissal based on his religious beliefs, reports Jim Romenesko on his blog.
He was writing in his post about The Queen James Bible, a Bible which omits any negative references to homosexuality.
In the blog, he wrote: “[Jesus] said there would be deceivers. He said those deceivers would cause Christians who remain true to His teachings to become reviled.
“He said false prophets would follow to deceive even more, and that lawlessness will abound.
“If you ask me, it sounds like the Gaystapo is well on its way. We must fight back against the enemy.”
Attorney Jeremy Dys told the Blaze: “[He] was just writing this as his own personal impressions, and he saw this story about the ‘Queen James Bible’ and it really got under his skin about how they’re twisting scripture — and he felt compelled to defend his vision of scripture.
“They decided to completely squelch his speech because he expressed a religious belief.Nobody should be fired for their faith or for the exercise of his faith.”
After his dismissal, Jim Rung, president of Shaw Media which owns the paper, said in a statement: “While he is entitled to his opinion, his public airing of it compromised the reputation of this newspaper and his ability to lead it.”
Eschliman had been employed at Newton Daily News since 2012.
