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Mississippi Sheriff’s Office Decides Firing André Cooley For Being Gay Is Not, In Fact, Kosher

André Cooley, the Mississippi corrections officer fired in June for being gay, and who was then told by brass at the Forrest County Sheriff’s Department that it was perfectly legal to do so, will get his job back — after the ACLU threatened legal action on his behalf. Cooley’s sexuality was revealed when his supervisor at the time responded to a domestic violence dispute between Cooley and his partner; the following day his supervisor terminated him, admitting it was because Cooley is gay. A settlement reached between Forrest County and Cooley allows him to come back to work, and also has the department updating its non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation (the sheriff’s department first in the state to do so). Oh, and Cooley got some cash for his troubles, too.

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