CASE WATCH::Atlanta Refusing to Bow to the Name of Jesus — Charisma News

When one reads the hyperbole surrounding the Cochrane case keep in mind, "it was not because of his religious beliefs, but for his poor judgment in distributing his self-published book that condemned homosexuality. Atlanta has sexual orientation nondiscrimination protections and Cochran was fostering an unwelcoming working environment that did not represent the city’s values. Moreover, while Cochran was suspended for a month to investigate complaints about how he distributed his book, he openly promised to continue engaging in such actions, which Reed felt seriously undermined his 'judgment.'"

Think Progress also notes, "Reed was adamant during Tuesday’s press conference that Cochran’s religious beliefs were not the reason he was fired. His book, Who Told You That You Were Naked?, was published in violation of Atlanta’s Standards of Conduct, which requires approval from the Ethics Officer and the Board of Ethics. According to Reed, Cochran’s 'actions and decision-making undermine his ability to manage our fire department' because employees need to feel that they are 'a valued member of the team and that fairness and respect guide employment decisions.'"

In the 2013 book, "Who Told You That You Were Naked?", Cochran called homosexuality "vulgar" and "the opposite of purity." He was fired early this year after employees complained to city council members about the book's content, Atlanta city attorney Robert N. Godfrey said.

"The city of Atlanta has a policy of non-discrimination," Godfrey said in court. "This book runs completely afoul of those principles."

U.S. District Court Judge Leigh May said during Wednesday's hearing that there had not yet been time for depositions in the lawsuit filed in February, suggesting she was not ready to throw it out. But she did not immediately issue a ruling.

Cochran is seeking to return to his job with back pay.
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Theriot noted that most of the books that Cochran gave away at work were to employees who asked for copies.

So my question would be, if "'[t]he fire chief wasn’t passing the book around, except to people who asked for it,”' how offensive is what he wrote that someone that received said book felt the need to report it? 

Atlanta Refusing to Bow to the Name of Jesus — Charisma News

See also::  Lawsuit: Fire chief terminated because of Christian faith for more Reich hyperbole

Cruz: 'Liberal Fascism' Seeks 'To Persecute, To Punish, To Fine' Any Christian Who Opposes Gay Marriage | Right Wing Watch

Same four or five “victims” of so-called persecuted, Christianists that have been at every anti-gay event in the last couple of years: former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran, florist Baronnelle Stutzman, bakers Aaron and Melissa Klein, Mennonite couple Dick and Betty Odgaard, and former Air Force Sgt. Phillip Monk.

Cruz is desperate to up his polling numbers enough to make the cut for the next GOP debate.  It's a crowded field  dominated by Donald Trump, contenders like Cruz have to up his rhetoric just to register on the news radar.   According to the Washington Post: 

Cruz has said that 2016 will be a “religious liberty election,” and is working to woo the religious right, which has a strong constituency here, in the early voting state of South Carolina and in the rest of the South, which is set to play a major role in the Republican nominating contest.
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While Cruz will be competing for the evangelical vote with candidates including former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, former senator Rick Santorum and neurosurgeon Ben Carson, few have been as vociferous about the notion that religious liberty is under attack than Cruz. He brought up the issue repeatedly during a bus tour of the South last week, repeatedly promising that on his first day in office he would direct federal agencies not to meddle with people who believe they have stayed firm to their religious beliefs in the face of social change.

And so it seems that was the point of the "Rally for Religious Liberty" in Iowa, pander to the base.  Although it appears his "scripted" day did not start very well,

"What about the question about LGBT people being fired for being gay-trans?" Page asked.

"Well, what we're seeing right now, we’re seeing Bible-believing Christians being persecuted for living according to their faith," Cruz said.

"You're discriminating against LGBT people," Page said. "Well, would you use that argument in segregation?"
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Cruz cited the Gortz Haus case where the Iowa business denied letting a same-sex couple use their wedding chapel due to their religious beliefs. The courts ruled against the couple. The couple decided to stop offering wedding rentals to all couples and then recently closed this summer.

"Now I’m happy to answer your question, but not to have a back-and-forth debate," said Cruz. "No one has the right to force someone else to abandon their faith and their conscience."

According to RRW, Cruz made his rounds:

Mickelson asked Cruz to discuss his fight against the “brazenness of the atheist Taliban” and the fact that “anytime they furrow their brow at anyone [people] fold up and go home and give them what they want.”

Cruz, who has previously railed against what he called a gay “jihad" against Christians, apparently liked Mickelson’s phrase, and took it up while describing his work fighting against church-state separation efforts.

“There is an assault on faith and an assault on religious liberty that we see across this country and it has never been as bad as it is right now,” he said, claiming that “radical atheists and liberals” are “driving any acknowledgment of God out of the public square.”

He also spoke with Ed Berliner on Newsmax to discuss what Cruz calls "liberal fascism" which has a "hatred and intolerance for Christians."

Berliner asked Cruz how he planned to bring both sides together when the Republican Party has a reputation that it "does not like homosexuals, that you are anti-gay" and that it supports anti-gay discrimination. Cruz, predictably, refused to address that issue, insisting simply that "I'm a Christian and Scripture commands Christians to love everybody" before declaring that the real issue is the supposed government persecution of people of faith.
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"What we're seeing now," he said, "is this liberal fascism and intolerance where their object is to persecute, to punish, to fine any Bible-following Christian or believer that believes in the biblical definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. And that is profoundly inconsistent with who we are as Americans."
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"There are some activists who, frankly, manifest a hatred and intolerance for Christians, who are persecuting Christians," Cruz said. "That is unfortunate. As I said, I think we should love everybody."

Cruz: 'Liberal Fascism' Seeks 'To Persecute, To Punish, To Fine' Any Christian Who Opposes Gay Marriage | Right Wing Watch

See also:

Ted Cruz Called God’s Candidate At Anti-Gay Rally In Iowa: VIDEO