The Kentucky Board of Social Work says a licensed counselor violated no laws when he wrote a social media post about the LGBTQ+ community in which he said “I personally (and professionally) never want to affirm rebellion against our Creator.”
The organization representing former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis in her efforts to overturn marriage equality is defending the social worker who was reportedly fired because of what he said in the post.
Florida-based Liberty Counsel said the unnamed counselor was employed by a Leitchfield health and wellness organization and is trying to be reinstated to his job, though it’s unclear how. A spokesperson for the Christian organization said “Liberty Counsel and the counselor are pursuing appropriate remedies” and to expect “more updates in the near future.”
Liberty Counsel laid out a sequence of events in a response on the social worker’s behalf to complaints that had been filed against him with the profession’s Kentucky governing board. The social worker’s name and that of his employer are redacted in the version of the response, dated July 18, that Liberty Counsel released. The address of his former employer is not redacted.
Liberty Counsel says the man was fired after making a social media post in June in which he wrote, “I’m a licensed mental health professional and there’s constant pressure to compromise beliefs to make people happy in this field (and in all our lives in general).”
His comments came after his employer made a post honoring Pride Month, held in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall uprisings, during which the LGBTQ+ community resisted police raids of gay bars and other discrimination.
“I love my career and the people I serve with a passion, but I’m not going to sell my soul for it. While places I work might be a ‘safe and affirming space for lqbtqia+ (sic) community,’ I personally (and professionally) never want to affirm rebellion against our Creator,” the post said, according to Liberty Counsel. “What good does it do if we gain the whole world — my favorite job, perfect mental health even — if we lose our own soul? I’ve recently watched previously sold Christians sell out on this issue. Count me out. I’m His, and sticking to His Word. The rainbow…reminds us He won’t flood the earth with water again because of all this crap, but dang, there’s a fire coming.”
In follow-up comments, the social worker said he recognizes “the dignity and worth of every person” and said that “loving well is important.”
“I think it’s a disservice to the counseling profession to encourage people to keep doing things that hurt them,” he said, according to Liberty Counsel. “I know you agree with that. We all have to judge daily. What is bad is judging wrongly or judging with a plank in our own eye. Our disagreement has to be whether or not sex outside of God’s word is mentally injuring. I believe so many disorders are ultimately caused by sin and the fall of man.”
The Kentucky Board of Social Work reviewed ethical complaints filed against the counselor, according to an August letter shared by Liberty Counsel and a video record of the August board meeting. After reviewing state law, the board “concluded that the facts alleged in this matter do not constitute any apparent violation of Kentucky law governing the practice of social work,” according to the letter sent by the board’s executive director to the counselor.
The board had a brief discussion of the complaints, none of which came from clients, during the August board meeting and ultimately voted that there wasn’t sufficient evidence that the social worker violated ethics or law.
State law says the board can “revoke, suspend or refuse to issue or renew; impose probationary or supervisory conditions upon; impose an administrative fine; issue a written reprimand or admonishment; or any combination of actions regarding any applicant, license, or licensee upon proof” that the person in question violated Kentucky’s code of ethical conduct or committed other offenses.
The code of ethics directs social workers to “promote the well-being of a client,” “not illegally discriminate against an individual,” “provide a service to a client in a manner that is respectful and appreciative of the client’s culture” and much more.
Marc Kelly, the executive director of the Kentucky Board of Social Work, said the documents “speak for themselves.”
“The licensee’s social media posts and other comments are likely distasteful and appalling to most social workers,” Kelly said, but “they were not considered a violation of (the law).”
“The postings made may have resulted in a dismissal but that is not necessarily a violation of law,” he said.
Rev. Brandon Long, an ordained minister who lives in Fort Thomas and has been open about his experience with conversion therapy, said this case represents a need to “do better.”
“We should be honest about what this is. If a licensed professional went online after their employer wished everyone a ‘Happy Black History Month’ and said they could never affirm Black people, or if they responded to their employer celebrating ‘International Women’s Day’ by insisting women should remain silent and submissive, we would immediately recognize that as bigotry, not faith,” Long said. “The same standard applies when LGBTQ people are targeted. It is the same logic of segregation, dressed up in new language.”
The First Amendment and protected class
One of the complaints filed but then dismissed by the board (and cited in Liberty Counsel’s July 18 response) alleges the counselor’s social media post “was accessible to clients and was viewed by clients (some commented on the post).” The code of of ethical conduct restricts “dual relationships” between counselors and clients, though it doesn’t specifically address being connected on social media. A dual relationship means a social, personal or business relationship between a social worker and client coexists with their professional relationship.
Liberty Counsel made the case that the speech in the social worker’s social media post was protected by the First Amendment, which protects freedom of assembly, speech, religion and the press; the 14th Amendment; the Kentucky Constitution and the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
“First Amendment speech and religious protections do not disappear when someone becomes a licensed counselor,” Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver said in a statement. “These frivolous complaints are a clear attempt to unconstitutionally silence and censor opposing views. There was no jurisdiction or cause here to regulate this counselor’s speech or discipline him based on private expressions of religious and political beliefs. The counselor’s employer should reinstate him immediately and correct this potentially costly mistake.”
A spokeswoman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky said the First Amendment “only protects people from government prosecution (and) persecution” and that private companies in Kentucky can hire or fire people over speech.
The employer in this case is redacted in Liberty Counsel’s documents. The organization believed to be the counselor’s former employer said it wouldn’t comment on the issue.
Meanwhile, Liberty Counsel asserts that “Kentucky law does not recognize ‘LGBTQ’ (or the words for which the acronym stands), nor ‘sexual orientation’ nor ‘gender identity’ as protected classes, but it does recognize ‘religion’ as a protected class.”
Chris Hartman, the executive director of the Fairness Campaign, said that “as a technicality, they are right — that those four words are not included in the protected classes, thus explicitly including LGBTQ people.”
However, he said, the United States Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County means that “sex as a protected class includes sexual orientation and gender identity,” therefore sexual orientation and gender identity are “implicitly protected in sex discrimination, both federally and statewide.”
Long, the minister, said any public professional has an “obligation to put personal bias aside in order to care for every client with dignity.”
“When boards, courts and governments allow this type of discrimination to continue without consequence, they are not protecting religious freedom, they are rebuilding segregation for a new era,” Long said. “We can, and must, do better.”
This story was originally published by the Kentucky Lantern.
