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 NYC Jeweler Accused Of Gay Bias In Church Vs
State Case
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: July 5, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(New York City) A Queens jewelry
manufacturer may appeal to the state's highest court after a judge ordered him
to testify whether he thinks gays are repulsive and doomed to eternal damnation.
The case involves a former worker who claims he
was fired by Ted Doudak, president of Riva Jewelry Manufacturing, after coming
out.
John Fairchild, 58, claims in a civil rights
lawsuit that he
was fired the day after he said at work that he is gay and his daughter is a
lesbian.
The lawsuit alleges that Doudak called gays and
lesbians "repulsive" and that he regularly quoted biblical passages at work.
During a pretrial hearing before a master rather
than a judge, called discovery, Doudak refused to answer questions by
Fairchild's lawyer about the allegations claiming his views are constitutionally protected religious beliefs.
William Kaiser, Fairchild's attorney, objected
and went to Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead.
Edmead ordered Doudak to answer Kaiser's
questions.
She ruled that no one can use their right to religious freedom "as a
cloak for acts of discrimination.
In an interview with the New York Daily News
Kaiser said that "a lot of discrimination against homosexuals has a religious
motivation."
Kaiser said that the ruling means: "People who hold those
views have to know they can't act on them with regard to employment."
Doudak's attorney, Todd Krakower, said the
ruling may be appealed, saying that it could set a
dangerous precedent.
"You're attacking perceived religious affiliation in an attempt to
make a claim," Krakower told the Daily News. "He's trying to prove a case through
religious affiliation, and that's improper."
©365Gay.com 2007
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