http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2044557.shtml?cat=10036I love how some people feel their rights are violated because they are not allowed to discriminate - religion does not give you the right to use tax payers money to tell people seeking help they are sinners.
(AP) ATLANTA - A woman who worked as a counselor for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claims she was wrongly fired because of religious discrimination for refusing to advise a woman in a same-sex relationship, and she asked a federal appeals court Thursday to let her bring a lawsuit against the Atlanta-based agency.
There’s no dispute that a woman came to Marcia Walden in 2007 for advice involving a same-sex relationship, and Walden was let go after she told the woman she couldn’t help because her "personal values" as a devout Christian prevented her from offering any assistance. The woman, who was not named in legal filings, complained to administrators that she felt "judged and condemned" by Walden after the encounter.
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The CDC and the company told the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that Walden could have simply referred the employee to another counselor without explanation. They argued that Walden’s religious beliefs didn’t require her to tell the client about her moral objections to engaging in same-sex relationship counseling.
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CDC attorney Matthew Collette added that the firm’s contract allows a counselor with a religious conflict to refer a case to another staffer, but bars the counselor from broadcasting feelings that "would cause potentially serious damage" to the program.