Atlanta Fire Chief: I was fired because of my Christian faith

Kelvin Cochran was five-years-old when he realized that he wanted to be a firefighter.

“My family was very, very poor,” Cochran told me. “We were living in a shotgun house in an alley – three big brothers, two little sisters.”

One Sunday afternoon the Cochran children heard a fire truck stop across from their neighbor’s home. Miss Maddie’s house was one fire.

“It’s a frightening day in the United States when a person cannot express their faith without fears of persecution following,” White told me. “It’s persecution when a godly fire chief loses his job over expressing his Christian faith.”

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“That’s the day that God convicted me in my heart that I wanted to be a firefighter when I grew up,” Cochran said. “All I thought about growing up in Shreveport was not being poor and being a firefighter.”

And God granted Kelvin Cochran the desires of his heart. The little boy in the shotgun shack grew up to become the fire chief of Shreveport. He was named the Atlanta fire chief in 2008 – a position he served until 2009 when was called to serve in the Obama Administration as a fire administrator. In 2010 he returned to Atlanta where he was unanimously confirmed to once again be the city’s fire chief.

But now Chief Cochran’s storied career is up in smoke – all because of a book he wrote for a men’s Bible study group at his Baptist church.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced Tuesday that Cochran had been fired. The announcement came on the same day Cochran was supposed to return to work following a 30-day suspension.

“The LGBT members of our community have a right to be able to express their views and convictions about sexuality and deserve to be respected for their position without hate or discrimination,” Cochran told me in an exclusive interview. “But Christians also have a right to express our belief regarding our faith and be respected for our position without hate and without discrimination. In the United States, no one should be vilified, hated or discriminated against for expressing their beliefs.”

Cochran had been suspended in November because of a passage he wrote about homosexuality in a book titled, “Who Told You That You Were Naked?” The book’s theme is about biblical morality.

“This is about judgment,” Mayor Reed said during a Tuesday press conference. “This is not about religious freedom. This is not about free speech. Judgment is the basis of the problem.”

Last November the mayor posted a public condemnation of the fire chief on his official Facebook page.

“I profoundly disagree with and am deeply disturbed by the sentiments expressed in the paperback regarding the LGBT community,” the mayor wrote. “I will not tolerate discrimination of any kind within my administration.”

The mayor went on to inform the public that Cochran had been suspended without pay and was ordered to complete a sensitivity training class.

“I want to be clear that the material in Chief Cochran’s book is not representative of my personal beliefs, and is inconsistent with the Administration’s work to make Atlanta a more welcoming city for all of her citizens -- regardless of their sexual orientation, gender, race and religious beliefs,” Mayor Reed wrote.

So what in the world did Cochran write that was so offensive to the mayor and the LGBT community?

According to the GA Voice, a publication that covers the LGBT community, there were two items that caused concern:

“Uncleanness – whatever is opposite of purity; including sodomy, homosexuality, lesbianism, pederasty, bestiality, all other forms of sexual perversion.”

“Naked men refuse to give in, so they pursue sexual fulfillment through multiple partners, with the opposite sex, the same sex, and sex outside of marriage and many other vile, vulgar and inappropriate ways which defile their body – temple and dishonor God.”

Cochran said he referenced homosexuality on less than a half a page in the 160-page book.

“I did not single out homosexuality,” he said. ‘I simply spoke to sex being created by God for pro-creation and He intended it to be between a man and a woman in holy matrimony – and that any other sex outside of that is sin.”

Cochran told me that someone within the department obtained a copy of the book and took it to openly-gay city council member Alex Wan.

Wan released a statement supporting Cochran’s termination and said it “sends a strong message to employees about how much we value diversity and how we adhere to a non-discriminatory environment.”

The book caused a firestorm within Atlanta’s LGBT community and there were many calls for him to be fired – a decision the mayor finally agreed to.

“I guess they got what they asked for,” Cochran said.

Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham told GA Voice Cochran’s “anti-gay” views could result in a hostile work environment.

“This is not about his religious views but his about his ability to lead a diverse work force,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that this had to happen. I feel the mayor has done the right thing to ensure all employees are treated fairly.”

The allegations against Cochran amount to a he-said, he-said between the fire chief and the mayor.

Reed said that he had no knowledge that Cochran was writing a book. However, Cochran said the director of Atlanta’s ethics office had not only given him permission to write the book, but to also mention in his biography that he was the city’s fire chief.

Cochran said he gave a copy of the book to Mayor Reed in January, 2014 and the mayor told him he planned on reading it during an upcoming trip.

Cochran also admitted that he gave copies of the book to several members of the fire department – individuals with whom he had personal relationships.

The mayor also took issue with Cochran speaking publicly about his suspension. However, Cochran said he honored the mayor’s guidance and did not speak to the media. He did, however, share his testimony in several churches.

“I did not dishonor him in the process,” Cochran told me.

Cochran wants to make clear that he does not hate anyone.

“The essence of the Christian faith is a love without condition, sir,” he told me. “I have demonstrated that love in the fire service for 34 years. There’s not any person of any people group that has interacted with me for any measure of time that can say I have hate or disregard or discrimination in my heart for any people group.”

Cochran’s plight has drawn condemnation from a number of religious groups across Georgia including the influential Georgia Baptist Convention.

“This is appalling,” said Robert White, president of the Georgia Baptist Convention. “This has everything to do with his religious beliefs.”

White told me he believes the mayor sucbed to pressure from the city’s LGBT community.

“It’s a frightening day in the United States when a person cannot express their faith without fears of persecution following,” he told me. “It’s persecution when a godly fire chief loses his job over expressing his Christian faith.”

And the fire chief’s firing could spark public protests and demonstrations from the state’s Christian community.

“We’re past the point of taking a public stand,” White told me. “Christians must stand up for their rights.”

Cochran told me he is considering his legal options – but one thing is certain. He has no desire to get his old job back.

“I believe God has greater things for me,” the father and grandfather said. “I love the fire services. It’s a childhood dream come true.”

And don’t go feeling sorry for Chief Cochran.

“I’m not discouraged and I’m not downtrodden,” he said. “This is a God thing and He’s going to do great things and He will vindicate me publicly.”

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These 'Christians' need to be reigned in. They march and protest for their own religious freedom and minority civil rights but are against Gay Equality.

I'd say he got what he deserved. I remember something about 'Judge not lest ye be judged' but I'm not sure where that quote comes from. I think it has to do with the 'Good Book' but maybe not. Still I like that philosophy...

Fuck them. Fuck them all and let their 'God' sort them out

But because I am a Catholic, and no Catholic has ever been elected President, the real issues in this campaign have been obscured -- perhaps deliberately, in some quarters less responsible than this. So it is apparently necessary for me to state once again -- not what kind of church I believe in, for that should be important only to me -- but what kind of America I believe in.

I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute; where no Catholic prelate would tell the President -- should he be Catholic -- how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference, and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him, or the people who might elect him.

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gb2000ie said:

...People should be fired for their actions. Were there gays who were the best person for the job who have been passed over? Is he preaching against gays in work? Is he creating a hostile work environment?

If not, then a man has just been persecuted for his beliefs because some people are afraid he MIGHT do something bad because he doesn't think like them...

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Gruet98 said:

So what's the difference between writing a book that says "homosexuality is a sin" and actually holding an anti-gay poster outside the fire department like some westrbro nut?

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Gruet98 said:

Why is that so bad?

Sure he can say it is a sin according to his religion. But his own personal belief is what matters. And by publishing his own book and labelling it as a sin is a clear indication of what this man is - whether he is fit ot be head of the fire department or not.

So why is having the same personal belief - labelling something as a sin, a bad thing?

Because you create prejudices. Because your belief reflect your actions. And someone who publishes a book about his belief makes you all the more dangerous to the people you discriminate because for sure you'll act on your belief. And that creates doubt on your credibility.

But saying something and acting on it are different right?

Sure. But what we are talking about is credibility and what you make the whole fire department out to be.

He says homosexuality is a sin. So what if someone in the fire department is a homosexual. And that someone wants to go on leave to spend time with his boyfriend? Would he allow it? Would he ALLOW a sin to take place? Think about it.

By publishing a book, he not only painted himself in a bad light, but the whole fire department. Employees who go and post stupid stuff on the internet have been relieved just because they make their employers/companies look bad. As head of the fire department you are saying that homosexuality is a sin in the entire fire department and that should be the norm for everyone working in it.

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Gruet98 said:

People have always been hiding behind the veil of religous freedom to disguise their hate speech. They say things like "You'll go to hell", "God hates homosexuals" or "Thank God for Aids" and then they'll say it's about respecting their religion, that we homosexuals direspect their faith.

I mean come on.

If this fire chief labels homosexuality as a sin and publishes it, here's what he is saying:

a) According to his religion homosexuality is wrong.
b) According to his own belief (without the veil or religion) homosexuals are wrong.

He is basically saying that we homosexuals are wrong, we are sexual perverts. That homosexuality (like every other sin) needs to be corrected.

How can you stand there and take all what he is saying when you are a homosexual yourself? Disgusting.

How can you say this is not a hate speech? Disgusting.

Yes every religion can label anything as a sin. But this was his OWN PERSONAL belief.

Yes anyone can say anything is a sin according to his religion. But you have to take CONTEXT into account. This person has a position, he was on top. Think about the consequences of what he has done to the fire departemnt. He basically alligned his religious beliefs, his own personal beliefs and the morality of the whole fire department.

He was a fire department chief. And with that position, all you do and say represents the entire department that you handle.

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