UK Christian magistrate fired for opposing gay adoption will now sue Justice Minister

LONDON - A UK Christian magistrate, Richard Page, is suing the Justice Minister after he was fired over his comments on adoption by gay parents.

Christian magistrate Richard Page said a child would be better off if brought up by a mother and father rather than a gay couple. After Justice Minister Michael Gove sacked him over his comments, he accused the latter of "pandering to the new political orthodoxy," according to the Express.

Speaking to BBC in an interview in March 2015, Page explained that it was his responsibility as a magistrate to determine the best situation for the child. For him, growing up with a father and a mother would be better for the child.

"My responsibility as a magistrate, as I saw it, was to do what I considered best for the child," Page told BBC last year. "And my feeling was therefore that it would be better if it was a man and woman who were the adopted parents."

Page added that he is not homophobic, but he was just speaking out according to his Christian belief. For him, homosexual activity and sex outside of marriage is wrong, the report relays.

In addition, Page said there is not enough evidence to show that a child who grows up in the care of a gay couple will have the same holistic benefits as the child who grows up with a mother and father.

However, the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office found his comments "biased and prejudiced" against the gay couple seeking to adopt the child, a spokesman for the office said. His comments caused him to be removed from the bench after serving for 15 years, Christian Today reports.

Page, on the other hand, worried over the consequence of his comments on the gay adopters, especially because it involves his Christian views. He said it has become difficult for Christians to express their views because of the fear of being ostracized from the community. Page then vowed to challenge the office's decision.

Meanwhile, Page's lawyers from the Christian Legal Centre released a statement calling the decision to sack their client as "modern day madness."