Posted on 12/07/2009 3:03:08 PM PST by Fido969
Grard was fired by Bill Thompson, editor of the Sentinel and its sister paper the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, shortly after the Nov. 3 election in which Maine voters repealed a same-sex marriage law approved by the Legislature. Grard said he arrived at work the morning after the vote to find an e-mailed press release from the Human Rights Campaign in Washington, D.C., that blamed the outcome of the balloting on hatred of gays.
Grard, who said he’d gotten no sleep the night before, used his own e-mail to send a response. “They said the Yes-on-1 people were haters. I’m a Christian. I take offense at that,” he said. “I e-mailed them back and said basically, ‘We’re not the ones doing the hating. You’re the ones doing the hating.’
One week later, he was summoned to Thompson’s office. He was told that Trevor Thomas, deputy communications director of the Human Rights Campaign, had Googled his name, discovered he was a reporter, and was demanding Grard be fired. According to Grard, Thompson said, “There’s no wiggle room.”
He was immediately dismissed.
The week after Grard was fired, he said, his wife, Lisa, who wrote a biweekly food column for the Sentinel as a freelancer, received an e-mail informing her that her work would no longer be needed.
I guess I’m confused. As a reporter isn’t he allowed to do that?
This has been happening for at least fifteen years. You speak out against the homosexual lobby, you lose your job. Horrific and without any support. These traditonal people have no giant slush fund to help them continue to speak out and pay their bills when they are attacked by the homosexual lobby. Doesnt seem to be any interst in starting one.
I have always thought that the best way to fight this is to have the retired and fixed income speak out and support.
employment at will
Not only that, but the man used his personal email to respond. He didn’t do it on a work computer. He has a God given right to his opinion. I just don’t understand why the gay movement is so hateful and vindictive!
Because this has been a winning tactic because traditonal people do not fight back out of fear.
This is not a new thing. A woman a few years ago fought the homosexual lobby in her town. The lobby found out who her husband was and got him fired by threatening to picket the business he worked for.
This is business as usual.
When are people going to get mad
Yes, he did. He used his work computer to send a personal email using a personal email account. The distinction? I don't know.
but it’s not clear if he used his own computer or one of the company’s to send it.
Article says the HRC person googled his name, and found him to be employed at the newspaper. So this was more clearly of nasty vindictiveness by the HRC person.
I was hit in a similar manner by some person googling my real name. The person found a reference to someone with a similar name that was a prominent member of Aryan Nation, and proceded to declare that I was that person. The Aryan Nation dude is currently in prison.
I’d say they proved his point about the ownership of hate.
Just as the world hated God’s Son, so they hate His people. I trust the reporter knows this.
So this guys “crime” was having an opinion. He’s fired. His wife is fired. her crime being what? Being married to the guy?! This is insane and definitely lawsuit material.
The Portland Newspaper Guild has filed a grievance on behalf of the fired reporter, who is a union member. His wife works (or worked) on a freelance basis, which usually means on a per-project or per-day basis, no benefits, and no unemployment coverage. I seriously doubt she has any grounds to sue.
Can’t use the work computer for personal business, even if you use your very own e-mail account.
Yup.
That sounds like it carries all the weight of a House "resolution".
We should start a web site of politically correct editors and journalists who persecute others in an attempt to kill the free press in America.
The way newspapers are fixin’ to take the deep 6 it’s good these two are out looking for work before their employer had to shut down.
“I just don’t understand why the gay movement is so hateful and vindictive!”
It’s because they are perverted, and their perversion is not limited to sexuality, it’s systemic.
..Yes, this is America and private companies can fire employees who represent themselves and the company that is objectionable to the powers that be..
Being a Christian is objectionable?
I'm setting up a Google Alert on this story because I don't want to lose track of it. I'm rooting for the guy, and I hope this isn't a dragged out fight.
Why don’t we hire this guy somewhere? Why work for leftist trash when you can work for a Christian?
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