Remember when everyone raised such a stink over Chick-fil-A when CEO Dan Cathy was critical of same-sex marriage in an interview in 2012? People called for Chick-fil-A boycotts while others promoted a Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.
Well, the same-sex marriage issue is definitely controversial still. Oh sure, President Obama said during his recent inauguration speech, “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for it we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.” And, he became the first president to have a gay poet (Richard Blanco) recite a poem written for the special event.
But, the discontent continues on both sides. Now Nashvillian Wes Breedwell claims he was fired from the Christian music venue Rocketown for wearing an “I Support Same-Sex Marriage” t-shirt.
According to some reports, Breedwell wore the shirt to Rocketown, where he had worked for seven years. But, in his tweet, he blamed “social media” for his firing. The Blaze posted a notice from Rocketown to Breedwell in which he is told that he “cannot wear a shirt to work on an office day or a show day supporting same sex marriage.”
In Rocketown’s notice, it mentioned how “it is imperative that our beliefs are not personal or presented @ work that contradict the mission. While the venue has said it won’t comment on the incident, it has issued a release saying it was a community center that served all youths, regardless of sexual orientation.
When Chris “Cmar” Martin from the Hostage Calm contacted Breedwell, Breedwell told Martin that he had suffered years of discrimination in denied raises and promotions at Rocketown. Rocketown denies that claim.
It should be noted that my home state of Tennessee is one of many in which it is not illegal to fire someone for being gay or supporting same-sex marriage. As I often say, in this part of the country, we are the buckle of the Bible Belt.
What I find a bit odd is Hostage Calm has played at Rocketown several times. But, after hearing Breedwell’s story, Martin may not be so quick to play there again.