Ruth Institute Blog

Charlie Butts – OneNewsNow -

An employee at a Brookstone store in Boston Logan Airport is without a job because of his Christian beliefs.

The situation involves a manager from another shop telling Peter Vadala of her impending wedding to another woman. Vedala did not immediately react, nor did he provoke his superior to discuss the issue further. However, after being approached multiple times, he did later express the view of his faith toward homosexual conduct. A short time later, he heard from the chain’s human resources department.
 
“I was fired from my job,” Vadala reports. “The reason wasn’t that I didn’t do my job correctly. It was because I expressed my belief that homosexuality is wrong. That’s the reason that I was fired.”
 
In Massachusetts, the state anti-discrimination law provides special protection for homosexuals, and that results in silencing any opposition.
 
“Basically, if you work for any company in Massachusetts, if you work for any business, they can fire you for expressing your beliefs as a Christian.” The former Brookstone employee iterates that this can happen “even if other people are expressing beliefs to the contrary, which [the manager] did by bringing up her so-called female fiancé.”
 
In the termination letter Vadala received, his actions were reported as “harassment,” and his comments were deemed “inappropriate and unprofessional.” 
 
“I’m a little upset that I got fired because I expressed my belief after being countered with this superior’s belief multiple times.”
 
Vadala contends that if homosexual marriage becomes legal in other states, people will risk their jobs if they express their sincere, Christian belief that homosexuality is wrong.