Atlanta Mayor Dismisses Fire Chief Over Christian Book

The mayor of Atlanta, Georgia has sparked a religious freedom debate after firing the city's fire chief for distributing Christian pamphlets to his co-workers that describe homosexuality as a sin.

Kelvin Cochran, the former fire chief of Atlanta, has released a statement through his lawyers, the Alliance Defending Freedom legal group, expressing his disappointment for being fired due to the distribution of his book that discusses biblical immorality, entitled "Who Told You That You Were Naked?"

"I am heartbroken that I will no longer be able to serve the city and the people I love as fire chief, for no reason other than my Christian faith," Cochran said in the statement, released by Alliance Defending Freedom. "It's ironic that the city points to tolerance and inclusion as part of its reasoning. What could be more intolerant and exclusionary than ending a public servant's 30 years of distinguished service for his religious beliefs?"

Those supporting Cochran argue that out of the many pages of his book, only a small portion is dedicated to discussing homosexuality as a sin. Cochran also serves as a Baptist deacon and teaches Sunday school.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed denounced Cochran's book on Facebook last November, shortly before suspending Cochran from his post as fire chief in December. Cochran was then permanently fired on January 6.

"I profoundly disagree with and am deeply disturbed by the sentiments expressed in the paperback regarding the LGBT community," Reed said last November via his official Facebook page. "I will not tolerate discrimination of any kind within my administration."