American Red Cross Fires Employee for Refusal to Celebrate "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month"

A relative brought this story to my attention on the recent case of the Red Cross employee that was fired for his refusal to celebrate the Gay lifestyle.

It is sad to see a life-saving organization getting distracted by politics and political correctness, instead of focusing on what they should be--saving lives. It is worst when political correctness trumps over individual's rights of expression and free exercise of religion. We can only hope the courts correct this error by the Red Cross, and communicate clearly to American corporations that free speech is still a constitutional right in this country.

When a non-profit starts veering away from its intended mission, in this case saving lives, then one should reconsider how your donations are being used. I for one do not want my hard earned dollars being spent on sensitivity training and "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month" celebrations.

Here is the email I received. It expresses well what I am sure are many people's sentiments.

I don't think the Red Cross needs my donations to fund their discriminatory practices and I hope you consider the same decision. Businesses can decide their policies and I can decide to patronize them or not, likewise there are too many very good Christian charities that desperately need funds for me to give my money to an organization that does not respect the moral values of their staff and most of their donors.

While my donations to the Red Cross are relatively a pittance and usually only during some natural disaster, the total donations of all those holding strong moral values may be a significant force on the Red Cross, particularly since it is those with strong moral and religious values that tend to be the most generous donors. I will opt for the Salvation Army and the local blood bank.

Robert Knight correctly points out the bias in regards to the treatment of Christians and respecting an individual's beliefs and value system. If it is a Christian's, then there is no tolerance.

“We are seeing an alarming double standard emerging in corporations and nonprofits,” said Concerned Women for America's Culture & Family Institute director Robert Knight. “If you are not in a specially protected group, you don't get the same consideration. More and more, Christians are being harshly disciplined or even fired for actions that would bring a slap on the wrist to a homosexual activist or feminist.”

Michael Hartman concluded to CWFA, “If the public knew what was going on within the Red Cross I have no doubt their unselfish support would screech to a halt.”

This case joins the AllState case where an employee was fired for his beliefs. That case is concerning because the employee of Allstate Insurance was fired for writing comments in a non work related magazine that were critical of gay `marriage'.

Do employees lose their rights to free speech when they are hired by a company? Do I lose my rights to speak on an issue simply because an executive in my company believes differently? You can read about that here.