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Loading ...San Diego appeals firefighter Gay Pride ruling
03.25.2009 1:54pm EDT
(San Diego, California) The city of San Diego will appeal a jury verdict that found four San Diego firefighters were sexually harassed for being ordered to participate in a gay pride parade and awarded them combined damages of $34,300.
City Council voted 7-0 in a closed session to file the appeal.The firefighters – Alex Kane, Chad Allison, Capt. John Ghiotto and Capt. Jason Hewitt – claimed they were subjected to sexually charged conduct and lewd comments while riding a fire engine in the July 2007 parade, which drew about 150,000 spectators.
The firefighters’ attorney, Charles LiMandri, said during his closing argument that his clients were targets of vulgar gestures and catcalls while being forced to watch barely clothed men and women simulate sex acts and touch themselves and one another.
“The Fire Department knew what goes on there,” LiMandri told the jury. The jury deliberated for nearly three days in reaching its decision last month.
This was the second trial on the firefighters’ claims. In October, jurors were unable to reach a verdict.
LiMandri requested up to $1 million for each client at the first trial. He didn’t propose specific damages at the second trial.
A crew that volunteered to ride a fire engine pulled out shortly before the parade because the captain’s mother died. LiMandri told the jury that department supervisors didn’t try to find other volunteers, but gave the assignment to the crew in the city’s Hillcrest area, home to a large gay population where the parade is held.
The firefighters’ attorney argued that his clients objected but weren’t taken seriously. The city said the firefighters expressed discomfort but didn’t complain of sexual harassment at the time.
Deputy City Attorney Don Shanahan had argued that the firefighters weren’t satisfied after Chief Tracy Jarman apologized and promised to change the department’s policy and use only volunteers in the parade.
“The department bent over backwards,” Shanahan told jurors.
>Hey “Wayne”, boi, grow a pair will ya.
IMO, “growing a pair” could be defined as sticking up for what’s right, even if it doesn’t technically fall in line with my personal agenda. And being a good sport about it, without resorting to name calling and personal attacks.
Sometimes I think that the hottest thing about masculinity is restraining the use of power…using it judiciously. It’s that calm hunk who knows what he’s got, plays nicely with others, doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone, and doesn’t have to hurt others to bolster his self esteem.
WOOF!
>What were the firemen wearing? Perhaps they were asking for it. I’m certain they were asking for it and they wanted it.
If you dared to say this about women claiming sexual harassment, the PC police would come after you, torches in hand.
This kind of sexism is un-be-lievable!
>They are responsible for being involved in community involvement since they are paid by the taxpayers’ money and they should not get to say what parades they want to go to and which ones they should sit out.
If it involves sexual behavior of any kind, then YES, they DO have the right to say no to one event versus another.
If this was a panel discussion or having a fire truck at a picnic for gay families and their children, then I would side against the firefighters. But we can’t have our cake and eat it, too. We can’t fight for the right for sexual expression at Gay Pride parades, and then talk about Gay Pride parades as if someone claiming sexual harassment is as silly as someone claiming sexual harassment at a Shriner’s parade. It’s not the same.
FWIW, I *like* my Gay Pride parades sexual. I don’t want to change them. All I’m saying is that workers who find the sexualization uncomfortable should *not* be required to work in them. It’s the law.
I don’t know why San Diego decided to waste money. The position of the firefighters lines up very, VERY strongly with existing case law on sexual harassment. By *law* employers are required to work to eliminate harassment in the environments in which they place their workers. Failure to address the harassment in the environment is open to litigation. This is *very* consistent with how it’s always worked in these cases. And the Fire Dept. managers virtually admitted their guilt by saying after the fact, “We should have made attendance voluntary.” Duh!
It doesn’t matter that the firefighters are homophobic. I don’t debate that. But even homophobes have the right not to work in a sexually harassing environment.
If this were women being sent into an environment with cat calls, whistles, and sexual comments, the case would be a slam dunk. The only reason why it’s being debated at all is because of sexism, IMO.
All fire men are rapists and bullies with hero complexes, it is true. It was their style of dress. They could’ve said no.
What were the firemen wearing? Perhaps they were asking for it. I’m certain they were asking for it and they wanted it. What a waste of the courts time. This happens to any woman, gay or straight, every day. Poor wimpy firemen. Aren’t they usually bullies and rapists with a cherry on top of hero complex? Please. No one forces them into that job.
They could’ve quit. They could’ve said no.
Hey Shawn, i’m finding it harder to keep my posts clean with responding to the likes of yourself. For the record I’m gay. I’m just fed up with the sleaze and scum in the community that gives the rest of us good guys a bad name. How pathetic and sleazy people like you are… no better off than two dogs sniffing away at one another. It’s nasty. I’ll go out on a limb to guess if the SDFD had older crew on the truck that wasn’t attractive, there wouldn’t have been any lewd acts toward the guys. Dude, learn a word called monogamy and self respect.
Hey “Wayne”, boi, grow a pair will ya. You and yer fellow knuckledraggers are tryin’ to milk the system for all ya can! LMAO! Your pitiful crudf*ck attorney couldn’t rope in a six figure settlement for you hetero lowlifes and now the city of San Diego has now sprouted some brains and is appealing this ridiculous decision. Better luck next time “chief”. ROFL!!
Quote “The firefighters’ attorney, Charles LiMandri, said during his closing argument that his clients were targets of vulgar gestures and catcalls while being forced to watch barely clothed men and women simulate sex acts and touch themselves and one another.” Un-Quote.
Oh you mean like the GLBTQ community is not forced to see Heterosexuals do that on TV every night? Hmm… I wonder if there was a very large reward for catching these fire fighters doing what they complained about during pride, on video, with their heterosexual girlfriends, would these big chickens turn tail and run? Or be man enough to admit they are being hypocrites?
Hey “bois”, maybe if the gay community realized that not every good looking man is gay, perhaps things might be a little different. But no, seeing that “self respect” and respect for others eludes many gay men, we have a rightful lawsuit. With the exception of Rednax, the rest of you need to get a grip on reality.
You hit it on the nail Chris…..these men are to take the orders from their commanders…like the military, they do not get to choose what their duties are. Those positions hold an importance to the public which it serves, and thus there is no democracy in these jobs.
I am glad the city is appealing the decision. If it were, a regular parade and gay people attended and were whistling at the fire fighters and the fire fighters did not want to attend that parade either, would they have won. They are responsible for being involved in community involvement since they are paid by the taxpayers’ money and they should not get to say what parades they want to go to and which ones they should sit out. Do the men and women or the military have a say in what wars they want to go to or are they able to say well we just went to a war I do not feel like going to another. The lawsuit should be thrown out on counts of being frivolous and then these men should have to reimburse the city for the cost of such a dumb trial.
What a bunch of whineass*es! These puke neanderthal firefighters are in charge of a firehouse in a WHAT?!? A predominantly GAY neighborhood??? Should we really trust these fu*kin’ breeder pukes to service our neighborhoods?
As much as I hate to say it, I think the jury made the right decision.
What those straight firefighters experienced against their wishes is completely unacceptable for the workplace.
If the situation were reversed and a group of gay men were forced against their wishes by an employer to participate in an event that involved the sexualisation of straight people, I would be up in arms. I have to apply the same reaction to this case.
Born & raised in San Diego, I’d like to say this sort of extreme & irrational reaction followed by such a frivolous lawsuit surprises me. But they don’t.
Once again, I’m reminded why I’ll never move back. These four firefighters should be ashamed of themselves. Booo!