Former Atlanta fire chief, fired for views on marriage, to aid other ‘cancel culture’ victims

The Atlanta fire chief fired for expressing his views on marriage and sexuality in a book for his church’s Bible study will work to aid other victims of “cancel culture,” Kelvin J. Cochran said Friday.

Mr. Cochran won a $1.2 million settlement from the city of Atlanta after a federal judge ruled his 2015 firing over the publication of “Who Told You That You Were Naked?” raised free speech and procedural issues. He is now a senior fellow and vice president of Alliance Defending Freedom, the public advocacy law firm that won the lawsuit.

“One of the jobs I have is to develop a national deployment strategy to respond on behalf of any believer who is publicly attacked for living out their faith,” Mr. Cochran, a U.S. fire administrator in the Obama administration, said in a telephone interview.

“The deployment strategy will involve a prayer initiative, pastoral care, and counseling, legal guidance, benevolence, just in case the believer loses income or, or any losses,” he said.

David Cortman, senior counsel at the legal group, said in a statement that Mr. Cochran “knows what it feels like to be put on trial for one’s faith and witness your life change overnight, simply for adhering to biblical Christian principles. Grateful for the support from other Christians – such as local pastors, grassroots and local groups - Chief Cochran looks forward to providing support and encouragement to other Christians who find themselves in the same situation.”

That “overnight” change erupted at the end of 2014, when Mr. Cochran was accused of sharing copies of his Bible study book with employees of the Atlanta Fire Department. The book was called “contrary to the city’s and my personal commitment to nondiscrimination” by then-Mayor Kasim Reed, who fired Mr. Cochran after an openly gay city council member complained about the book. 

Mr. Reed at the time said he feared legal action against the city by any offended employees. A city investigation, however, said no employees “were able to identify a specific instance of unfair treatment by Mr. Cochran based on his religious beliefs.”

Mr. Cochran sees himself as one of the first victims of “cancel culture.”

“The phrase had not become popularized at the time that I was terminated,” Mr. Cochran said from his home in Reston, Virginia. “And I don’t know how many occurred before me, but I think it would be safe to say that what happened to me was the early days of what we now call ‘cancel culture.’”

Mr. Cochran said a lack of tolerance, which he called “a principle that the United States of America was founded upon” is largely to blame for today’s predicament.

“What we’re experiencing now is based upon the tenets of canceled culture, that disagreement equates to hate, and that if you hate me, because of your disagreement with me, then we’re gonna destroy your career and even your family, in some cases,” he said. “That’s the direction that cancel culture is taking.”

Along with the ADF initiative, Mr. Cochran next week will publish “Facing the Fire,” a memoir co-authored with Andy Butcher discussing the faith that brought Mr. Cochran “through the flames of persecution,” as the subtitle indicates. 

“Another part of the story is that if we are trusting in God and we have courage and confidence in him, then God will use all of those fires that he has brought us through in the past to build our confidence when we face a major fire like I experienced being terminated for living out my faith.”