Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Associated Press reports:
An appeals court on Friday blocked a federal judge’s order that three attorneys for Southwest Airlines get religious liberty training from a conservative advocacy group, saying the judge likely exceeded his authority. Three judges with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans put the training order on hold while appeals are pursued.
The order is an outgrowth of a case in which a Southwest flight attendant, Charlene Carter, sued the airline and her union after she was fired for sending graphic anti-abortion material and disparaging messages to a union leader and fellow employee. Carter won an $800,000 court award, also the subject of an appeal, after her attorneys argued that she was terminated for her religious beliefs.
The religious-training requirement was part of a contempt order against the airline issued by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr. He ordered the three lawyers to complete at least eight hours of religious liberty training from the Alliance Defending Freedom.
Read the full article. As most of you surely know, the Alliance Defending Freedom is arguably the most prominent of anti-LGBTQ hate groups. The judge is a Trump appointee and former assistant to Texas AG Ken Paxton.
A U.S. appeals court on Thursday said a federal judge in Texas lacked the power to order in-house lawyers at Southwest Airlines to attend “religious liberty training” after a flight attendant won a religious discrimination lawsuit. https://t.co/oHzDZgfeji
— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) May 9, 2025