Luke Ash, a Baptist church pastor, was working as a library tech at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library until July 10 when he was terminated for violating a policy about respectful behavior.
Recalling the incident on the Washington Watch program, Ash said he was talking to a library co-worker about a third employee, a female co-worker. During that conversation he was accused of using the wrong “personal pronoun” for that person, who wants to be referred to as a “he,” but Ash openly said he refused to refer to a woman as a man.
The next day, a Tuesday, he was reprimanded for his refusal and on Thursday was terminated.
"Did they give you an option of using the incorrect biological pronoun and playing the game?” show host Tony Perkins asked.
“Sure, yeah,” Ash told Perkins.
“And you said…?”
“I said I’m not going to lie,” Ash recalled.
Transgender people typically switch names to a more masculine or feminine name, but it doesn't appear Ash was confronted and fired over that situation, just the use of pronouns.
Ash, a bi-vocational preacher, pastors Stevendale Baptist Church which is located in Baton Rouge.
East Baton Rouge Parish Library operates 15 library branches in and around the famous Louisiana city, where its parish is known as East Baton Rouge.
The story of Ash’s firing has gone viral on social media thanks to LibsofTikTok, the popular X channel. After his firing was mentioned there it got noticed by attorney Harmeet Dhillon, who heads the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Justice Department.
“What?!!” Dhillon, reacting to the Libs post, wrote on X.
Back in the Perkins interview, the church pastor said he didn’t regret his decision to speak out even after it was clear it would cost him his library job.
"Jesus said you have to serve God or mammon,” Ash said, “and a lot of times there is a fork in the road."
He also urged other Christians to never go looking for a fight but to be ready to be persecuted for desiring to live a Godly life.
“And whenever it comes time to fight,” he added, “find a group of happy warriors and go to battle."
