Bill Donohue: It’s Fake News To Say You’re Gay-Married Because Men Cannot Be Husbands To Other Men

Last week another gay teacher at a Catholic school filed a lawsuit after being fired for getting married. Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue responds with a new twist via press release:

Lonnie Billard knew when he “married” his boyfriend, making it public on his Facebook page, that Charlotte Catholic High School, his employer, would object. He sued when he was fired and is now seeking back pay and benefits, punitive damages, and compensatory damages for emotional distress. He is represented by the ACLU, an organization which is at war with the Catholic Church.

The suit is bogus on several counts. The First Amendment protects religious liberty, allowing religious schools to practice the tenets of their faith. The lawsuit does not cite a violation of state law, and that is because no North Carolina law was broken.

The lawsuit relies on Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, but this is without foundation: sexual orientation was not a protected class when the bill was passed, and amendments by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to include sexual orientation are judicially unresolved.

“I know that the Catholic Church opposes same-sex marriage,” says Billard, “but I don’t think my commitment to my husband [sic] has any bearing on my work in the classroom.” [Note: husbands are men and wives are women, so if Billard’s partner is his husband, that would make him his wife, and no one really believes that to be true. The Catholic League does not tolerate fake news.]