Pastor Dennis Hodges has sued San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria for removing him from a city board after he abstained from a vote condemning "transphobia."
His case addresses Gloria's discrimination against his Christian beliefs, which he says are unrelated to his role in San Diego's Citizens Advisory Board on Police/Community Relations. The complaint alleges that his fellow commissioners influenced Gloria to veto his reappointment to the board.
Pointing out that "the government has to be neutral when it comes to theology of chaplains," Brad Dacus, president and founder of the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI), agrees that this local government overstepped.
He says chaplains have a broad job to meet people's needs, and the government cannot discriminate against the unpopular theology to which a chaplain personally espouses.
"That is the problem with this situation and why this chaplain is very justified in filing this lawsuit," the attorney asserts.
"While things are very uncertain at the local level, I am very optimistic that if and when this case makes it to the United States Supreme Court, this Supreme Court, because of the very important appointments by former President Donald Trump, will see this for what it is, which is state hostility and bigotry and discrimination based upon an individual's personal religious beliefs," Dacus adds. "That is unconstitutional."
The government can only discipline an employee if he or she is not functioning in accordance with his or her job description, and that was not the case with Pastor Hodges. He was fired for his beliefs on creation and God's design for humankind and human sexuality, which are based on Scripture and supported by science.
"This is a great case for the Supreme Court to take up, and I'm confident that in the end, justice will be served," Dacus tells AFN.
He invites any chaplain anywhere in U.S. who is being demoted or discriminated against for believing what the Bible teaches to reach out to his team for legal assistance.
