Billard said he was the subject of unfair discrimination.

“I posted on Facebook that Rich and I were going to get married,” he said. “Within a week, another teacher had posted that she and her boyfriend were going to get married. She did not get fired, but I did. That’s discrimination.”

The school had been OK with the relationship prior to his announcement that he and Donham were going to marry, Billard said.

“Rich accompanied me to all the faculty events we went to,” Billard said. “He was a presence at the plays that I directed, and that kind of thing. ”

Charlotte Catholic High School declined to comment.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has doctrines against same-sex marriage but affirms that individuals who are attracted to people of the same sex deserve respect.

Billard, who is not Catholic, said the Church can stand by its beliefs about gay marriage.

“But I wasn’t performing in a religious capacity; I was performing in a secular capacity,” he said.

Billard said there were other teachers at the school who violated Catholic doctrines, including those regarding divorce, and that the school allows non-Catholic teachers.

Brook said exemptions under Title VII do not apply to this case because Billard’s responsibilities were secular.

“Of course the Catholic Church would have the right to hire clergy that subscribe to and follow their religious doctrine across the board, but that’s just not the case here,” he said.

David Hains, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Charlotte, said in an email that the Diocese had not received the lawsuit and would not comment.

Brook said Billard should be judged based on his performance as a teacher, not based on whom he loves.

“His work in the classroom was exemplary,” he said. “He was nominated every year that he was a full-time teacher at Charlotte Catholic for the Teacher of the Year award.”

@baileysaldridge



state@dailytarheel.com

