ATLANTA FIRE CHIEF - KELVIN COCHRAN - FIRED FOR ‘ANTI-GAY’ VIEWS - ABSOLUTELY WANTS HIS JOB BACK

 

Machine generated transcript, expect errors.

you know in the United States of America American said not have that

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choose between

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keeping your job in living out your they and that's the position that

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the city of Atlanta actually has taken all who

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0

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of in January 2015 Kelvin Cochran

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who at the time was fire chief in Atlanta Georgia was fired from his job

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for writing and publishing a book

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expressed his biblical understanding of sexual morality

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in the book cochran broke from a Christian perspective

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that same-sex sexual act like homosexuality

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are one of many sexual sense this case has national implications for several

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different reasons

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first of all do we want the government deciding that anyone who holds views

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that are in conflict with the government's view can't work

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can't make a living I mean that should worry all of us regardless of your

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religious viewpoints

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ideological viewpoint your political viewpoints it should not matter what

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views you hold

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to hold the job and that's the first thing that you ever everybody the second

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thing is is

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is we have a right to religious freedom to be exercised in the constitution

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and that gives the person the right to say look I don't have to choose between

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my faith

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and making a living but that's exactly the choice that the city put on cheap

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cod

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cheap cochran sat down with the daily signal for an exclusive interview about

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life after being fired

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and how he's mine in battle

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this whole controversy came about because a

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the specific portions in the book last spoke to the issue

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of sexuality because many Christian me in struggle with issues

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sexual sin and sexuality and so I spoke to that in the book

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that

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why God created sex and that God's purpose for sex was for procreation

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and to do it his way it has to be done in holy matrimony

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and that led to the controversy some other issue the Rays and your own views

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on homosexuality

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have caused controversy and some people say they are hurt by your views and that

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you are impact discriminating I can people

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who are gay lesbian live both sorta lifestyles

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how would you respond to that the views expressed in

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who told you you are naked a biblical views

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that have stood for a 170 years thousands have years

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I and they were express from Scripture

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in the context at the book I so the say that they are

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I Myb uses really not the appropriate

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a truth for that matter and did you ever disturb you

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the book to your own employees and do you think that they could have

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interpreted

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you disturbing in the book as he trying to push your beliefs on them

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the distribution other book was based upon

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I Christians who I had a actually

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established a prior relationship with as believers

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in price who were actually employees on the work I

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at work and so there were other employees

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I'll who were a recipients

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at the book mess upon request thing the book that every person that received the

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copy of the book I had already established a prior relationship with

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them

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at work as believers one other things I found interesting about the city ordered

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you to undergo sensitivity training

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and you seem like a pretty fat than a percent at

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to me do you think that you need at if it was a requirement

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you know certainly our on on the authority that place that requirement on

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me

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I but the through the Holy Scriptures

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you know I've been trying to the highest degree love without condition

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and love that does justice for you

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really don't have any people feeling

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toward people

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my gay lesbian know I love all people

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and again I'm willing to die my profession for 34 years

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was to be willing to die for anyone under

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any condition where I could possibly save a life and I'm still committed to

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doing that today

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and so there's there's no hatred

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I just I mean this that love is the foundation of the Christian faith

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and I i have live that out in my profession

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but 34 years after being fired you are now

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turning the tables and filing your own lawsuit fame at that the government is

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discriminating

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against you for your religious beliefs why did you decide to

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fight back and bring the fossils well because a

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in the United States of America we're guarantee the freedom

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to live without fear have been terminated are experienced in any

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adverse action

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by the free expression a bar beliefs and thoughts

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I and so it was an injustice against me on that basis

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would you even like your job back after going for all this

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absolutely is one of the things that I'm pursuing and a

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hopefully I will be vindicated through the legal process

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and 2008 President Obama appointed you to the most prestigious position

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a firefighter came home in america your

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back here in DC today you could say one thing President Obama

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after going for all this and to our country for that matter what would you

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well it was an honour I I'm grateful to the president for providing me the

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opportunity to serve as the United States Fire Administration

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I I was supported in that capacity while I was here

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I

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and I was blessed to be able to do some incredible things even though I was here

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just for a short period of time and I would just encourage

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I him to stand by the Constitution

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that establishes us as the greatest nation ever

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and to support the fact that no American

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should have to live in fear been terminated

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by the free expression their beliefs and their parts

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you know governments do not have the right to impose

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government endorse belief systems on their employees

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you shouldn't have to decide happen

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choose between should I keep my job a live out my faith because people

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up any faith when they're strong in their face they would choose to live out

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their faith over keeping their jobs

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but that should not be even at the limit by any american

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I today in our country well thank you very much

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really appreciate it going thank you my place

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of

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the No

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