Stories tagged with: kelvin cochran

• Atlanta accepts $1.2M settlement with Kelvin Cochran

  by Art Toalston, posted Wednesday, October 17, 2018 (5 years ago)

  

  BP file photo

  ATLANTA (BP) -- The Atlanta city council has agreed to a $1.2 million settlement with former fire chief Kelvin Cochran over his January 2015 termination for his views about marriage and sexuality.

  The city council voted 11-3 after an executive session Monday (Oct. 15) during which city attorneys recommended a settlement and legal fees negotiated with the religious liberty organization Alliance Defending Freedom, which has handled Cochran's court case, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

  Beyond the city council's decision, Cochran told Baptist Press on Oct. 17, God has been faithful through what he calls "the fiery trial."

  He has had numerous opportunities to give his testimony in worship services and to speak at men's meetings and conferences. He also completed a doctorate in interdisciplinary leadership in May through Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. Read More

• Former Atl. chief gets partial federal court win

  by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, December 21, 2017 (6 years ago)

  

  Photo by Adam Covington

  ATLANTA (BP) -- Former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran has gained a victory in federal court, where a judge ruled the city's policies under which he was fired are unconstitutional.

  Federal Judge Leigh Martin May granted summary judgment to Cochran Wednesday (Dec. 20), finding Atlanta's pre-clearance rules governing such activities as writing a non-work-related book violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment by restraining speech in advance and inviting "unbridled discretion" by the city to approve or deny outside work. Read More

• Former fire chief Cochran's rights aired in court

  by Tom Strode, posted Wednesday, November 22, 2017 (6 years ago)

  

  Photo by Adam Covington

  ATLANTA (BP) -- A federal court is weighing not only former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran's right to express his beliefs but the right of others as well, religious liberty advocates say.

  Federal Judge Leigh Martin May heard arguments Nov. 17 in Atlanta regarding the city's 2015 firing of Cochran. The city terminated Cochran, now a staff member of a Southern Baptist church, after he wrote a men's devotional book that advocated in a brief section the biblical view of marriage and sexuality, including that homosexual behavior is immoral. Read More

• Evangelicals joust over Trump; Kelvin Cochran honored

  by Tom Strode, posted Tuesday, September 20, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  NRB Photo

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- Evangelical leaders debated the appropriateness of a vote for Donald Trump during a Sept. 16 event at the National Press Club sponsored by the National Religious Broadcasters.

  Two supporters of the Republican nominee traded opinions with two of his opponents as a divisive campaign moves toward the Nov. 8 election.

  Evangelicals have not escaped the discord in response to the major-party candidacies of Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. Some have said they will vote for neither of the major candidates, while others have thrown their support to Trump, with many citing him as the "lesser of two evils" and/or arguing a refusal to vote for him is a vote for her. Read More

• Cochran lawsuit against City of Atlanta to proceed

  by Joe Westbury/Christian Index , posted Friday, December 18, 2015 (8 years ago)

  

  DULUTH, Ga. (BP) -- The Alliance Defending Freedom lawsuit filed on behalf of former Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran will proceed against the city following a ruling by a federal court.

  The Atlanta Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissed some claims but allowed the suit to go forward on Cochran's primary claims of "retaliation, discrimination based on his viewpoint, and the violation of his constitutionally protected freedom of religion, association, and due process (firing ... Read More

• Former Atl. fire chief Cochran now a preacher

  by Diana Chandler, posted Thursday, August 20, 2015 (9 years ago)

  

  Photo by Diana Chandler/BP

  RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP) -- Kelvin Cochran was enjoying newfound popularity in 1981 as one of the first black firefighters in Shreveport, La., when women began following him to the fire station with their phone numbers in hand, charmed by his presence on the back of the fire engine.

  The 21-year-old dated like "crazy" for four months, he said, until God woke him up one morning and changed his life. Read More

• Fmr. Atlanta fire chief still in 'shock' at firing

  by Bonnie Pritchett, posted Wednesday, June 24, 2015 (9 years ago)

  

  Photo by Adam Covington

  COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Kelvin Cochran was living his boyhood dream. He had a good income. He was married, the proud father of three adult children, and a grandfather. And, the clincher, he was a fireman. But since being fired from his job as chief of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department in January, his dream has turned into a series of legal battles.

  Cochran shared his story, and told of the faith that undergirds him through trails, at a Cooperative Program forum June 15 in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Nate Adams, executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association, hosted the discussion. Read More

• Former Atlanta fire chief sues city, mayor

  by Scott Barkley/The Christian Index , posted Thursday, February 19, 2015 (9 years ago)

  

  Photo from The Christian Index

  ATLANTA (BP) -- "Americans are guaranteed the freedom to live without fear [of] being fired because of their beliefs and their thoughts," said David Cortman, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom, explaining the lawsuit ADF filed on behalf of dismissed Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran.

  "... In America a religious test cannot be used to fire a public servant," Cortman said yesterday (Feb. 18) in a press conference moments after the lawsuit was filed at the state capitol. Read More

• Supporters rally for fired Atlanta fire chief

  by Staff, posted Friday, January 16, 2015 (9 years ago)

  

  Photo by Bryan Nowak/Georgia Baptist Convention

  ATLANTA (BP) -- Some 600 people gathered at the Georgia Capitol Jan. 13 to support terminated Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran and ask elected officials to preserve religious liberty.

  Following the rally, demonstrators delivered 40,000 petitions to Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed requesting Cochran's reinstatement. Reed fired Cochran Jan. 6 following his publication of a book that calls homosexual behavior immoral. Read More

• Fire chief's firing called 'intolerance'

  by David Roach, posted Monday, January 12, 2015 (9 years ago)

  

  ATLANTA (BP) -- Southern Baptists have rallied behind terminated Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran, calling his firing an instance of intolerance toward Christians who articulate a biblical view of sexual morality.

  Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed fired Cochran Jan. 6 following an investigation into Cochran's book "Who Told You that You Are Naked?" which calls homosexual behavior immoral. Read More