A bus driver in Calgary is having an absolute meltdown over the city’s new rainbow colored buses promoting this year’s Pride celebration.
Jesse Rau has been a driver for Calgary Transit for about a year now. He says his Christian beliefs forbid him for supporting homosexuality. Therefore, driving the rainbow bus would be a direct violation of his deeply held religious beliefs.
Related: Bus Driver Refuses To Board Bus With Sign Reading “Some People Are Gay. Get Over It!”
“I’m a Christian so, as a Christian, there are things like homosexuality that I just can’t condone,” Rau said during a press conference. “Unfortunately, we live in a culture where if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, the accusation is that you hate the person.”
Rau insists he’s not the only bus driver who feels this way.
“People are afraid to speak out against this radical sexual movement that’s happening for fear of leaving their job,” he claimed.
Related: Gay Couple Ejected From Chicago Bus For Kissing, Holding Hands
As a result of his stance, Rau says people are already out to get him. He claims a complaint was filed against him alleging that he had been texting while driving on the job, an allegation he refutes.
“I am very careful not to text while driving,” Rau said. “I am aware that public transit is a blessing to many and I always want to keep the people on my bus safe and secure.”
“I am being targeted for speaking out for my faith,” he added.
Related: “No Gays Allowed” Business Owner Learns There Are Consequences To Being A Hateful Bigot
But city manager Jeff Fielding has a different story to tell. He said he hasn’t received any formal complaints about Rau, nor has Rau approached anyone from management about not wanting to drive the rainbow bus.
“Anybody, at any point in time, can write me an email or make an appointment to see me,” Fielding said. “If these were issues of concern to them personally in terms of their own beliefs and practices, I would have dealt with it appropriately.”
Rau refuses to be intimidated by anyone. And he absolutely, positively will not drive the rainbow bus, even if it means getting fired.
“I have a family to support and I am very concerned about losing the job,” he said, “but when it goes against the most important things I stand for, or if I’m asked to compromise in such a big way for what I believe to be right, then I have to lose my job.”
Related: Creepy School Bus Driver Corners Kids, Lectures Them About The Evils Of Homosexuality
Joseph Pasquino
Every tom dick and Harry is using their so called religious beliefs to pontificate their bigotry and ignorant views
Stephen Meeks
Fire them
Brian JC Kneeland
Another who won’t do their job! Either do them or resign!
Craig Bankert
Buh bye
Paul Ditz
My guess is that he’s never had a radical sexual movement and most likely never will.
Cam
This is a fake situation by somebody wanting attention. Apparently he was never asked to drive one of these busses, he has just been ranting allover social media about this as if he had been. But he wasn’t.
Cy
My guess is he’s worried people might think he’s gay. Well, too late bud, I’ve seen your picture, and I already know you’re gay. Just another closeted Christian. It really saddens me that the biggest homophobes are often just closet cases unable to deal with their own sexuality.
Cielo Perdomo
Ooooh! A radical sexual experiment! I didn’t know I was so cutting edge!
William Meyer
He should have a radical sex moment
Michael Spike Vincent
My sexual movement hasn’t been radical since I hit my late 40s. *sigh*
Kathryn Henry
So he literally refuses to do his job because of the appearance of the bus. I’m pretty sure that’s not something that should have any affect on his job performance.
Jane Freeman
Oh FFS! Get a bloody grip! Silly arse!
Giancarlo85
Just another crazed right wing nutcase. Nobody asked him to drive these buses. I am sure they are only doing this for a few buses in their fleet. And what is a lifestyle? Being gay isn’t a lifestyle. I hate it when idiots misuse that word. Lifestyle infers choice… Therefore Christianity is a poorly picked lifestyle.
Chris Sledge
His superiors said he never actually formally complained about it (he’s only been doing it in the media and on social media) I think you just looking for attention and maybe a GoFundMe account this is another fake “Christian” using the bible to co sigh his hate they take this tiny section of that book and claim its the most important yet they don’t adhere to anything else in the same section it’s hypocrisy at its finest
1EqualityUSA
(This has been said before. Forgive me, Queertiers, these words are relevant to Jesse Rau as well.)
These Religious zealots are imposing their beliefs on other Americans. That is too great a burden for a secular society. Christians are free to carry on, rendering unto Caesar, should they want to take part in capitalism. There is no room for a mindset that rationalizes taking away inalienable rights from the unpopular Americans. This country’s citizens cannot tolerate those who wish to oppress other Americans, no matter the motivation.
Do you not see the danger in tearing the wall of separation down between religion and politics? You believe we are a “Christian Nation,” but were this to change a hundred years from now, you may find your views challenged and your beliefs imposed upon. If you truly believe that your God is the only true God, can you not find talented teachers to convey the message, without establishing your beliefs into civil laws, under which everyone is coerced? The gradient is too wildly vast to say that your interpretation of the Bible is the proper version by which everybody shall be burdened. I do not want to live under Jesse Rau’s version of my Bible, nor would I expect him to be burdened by my interpretation. One hundred years from now, the tide may change and we may find that we are burdened by a different God entirely, should the precedence be set, now, by foolish Texans and Tea Partiers. Jesus and John the Baptist didn’t run up to Herod and say, “establish these laws of ours.” Their words transform hearts. It will be ineffective to establish religion into civil laws, as years from now, these laws may, well, be overturned and set on a shelf, futility. If you believe in the Word, sing it from the rooftops, tell it to the mountain, establish a way to convey God’s message in a convincing manner through talent and faith, but coercion by civil laws is throwing resources down a rat-hole. If you have faith in your Father’s Word, that should be enough to grow 70 times 70 hearts and minds. Establishing your religious beliefs in civil law, without transforming hearts, is a temporary measure, oppressive, and sure to fail.
If these church leaders were worth their salt, they would not need to resort to oppression and coercion. The Church has lost its way. They cannot spiritually feed the flock. The leaders are tangled in the thorns of this world. Separation protects. Mixing politics into religion supplants the Word. Christ was not a politician. He was not of this world. His Word was His authority. His example didn’t include oppression, but rather, free will. Any pastor, priest, or pope stating otherwise is nefarious and none of Christ’s.
Separation of Church and State protects the Spiritually minded in our Country, as well as those who have no religious interests. You are free to worship whomever you deem true and found a Church that teaches your version of the Bible, but keep your personal beliefs to yourself. Your God is not to be pushed onto North American society via civil laws. Oppression is not the example set for you by Jesus and anyone who says so is dark. Strife and rancor is not the way to teach God’s Word. The Word is not to be compromised by politics, nor by those itching for a fight.
Ismael Smiley Flores
https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-0/11921845_1135908573086786_4644036283732270564_n.jpg?efg=eyJpIjoidCJ9&oh=7703ccb7df70a9a1324b9e3dee191685&oe=5667291F
Tony Chaplinski
give him time off without pay during Pride celebration
Alford S. Sean
Isn’t it amazing that Big Kim (@KimDavis #KimDavis) can get married four times, via her chosen man-made religious cult! Her “god” must be So proud! Holiness? NOT! Is this who southern Pentecostals want as their PR mascot??? â? ï¸Better lock up your snakes & chickens! Obviously she loves food ……Let’s through pies in her face like Anita Bryant ….who’s with me?
She also has twins by her third husband born five months after her divorce from her first husband and claimed by her second husband. And she’s afraid of the Lord’s retribution for granting gays a marriage license?
Government Employees Have No â??Religious Freedomâ?? Right To Refuse Service To Same-Sex Couples, Says Americans United
Jul 8, 2015 â?? Clerks Must Issue Marriage Licenses To All Qualified Couples, Church-State Watchdog Says
Government employees who oppose marriage equality because of their religious beliefs are not entitled to refuse service to same-sex couples, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has informed officials in all 50 states today.
In a letter released today, which will be sent to all state attorneys general as well as county clerks in Texas and South Dakota, Americans United explains that with marriage equality now the law of the land, government employees do not have the right to opt out of serving gay couples, because doing so would harm those couples and violate their constitutional rights.
â??As Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the U.S. Supreme Courtâ??s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, there is dignity in marriage for all couples,â? said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. â??But government officials who refuse to serve same-sex couples are taking away that dignity.â?
The letter was prompted by a recent memo from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and a statement by South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, who suggested that government employees may be allowed a religious exemption from serving same-sex couples.
In its memo, Americans United says the Constitution makes no such allowance.
â??As with an interracial couple, imposing such burdens on a same-sex couple would burden, demean, and stigmatize the couple in a manner that violates the Constitution and other laws. Thus, allowing accommodations in these circumstances would subject government entities and officials to legal liability,â? asserts the AU document.
Said Americans United Senior Litigation Counsel Gregory M. Lipper: â??The Supreme Court meant what it said. Any same-sex couple denied service by a government official should contact Americans Unitedâ??s legal department. We stand ready to represent same-sex couples whose rights are violated on account of religion.â?
This action is part of Americans Unitedâ??s new project, Protect Thy Neighbor, which seeks to stop religious-based discrimination against LGBT persons and others.
The letter was written by Lipper with assistance from AU Associate Legal Director Alex J. Luchenitser, and Madison Fellows Zachary A. Dietert and Natacha Y. Lam. (Lam is admitted in New York only, and is supervised by Lipper.)
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
https://au.org/media/press-releases/government-employees-have-no-religious-freedom-right-to-refuse-service-to-same
Ummmm Yeah
It’s Canada so they’ll cave in to the bigots. No one in that country has a backbone.
Dennis Mitchell
He just quit….
Sluggo2007
Apparently, the bus driver wants his 15 minutes of fame just like the bitch in Kentucky. He also wants the paid appearances on the trash talk shows.
Faye Wilson
Then give the job to someone else who is qualified…and willing.
Sweetie Pie
@Ummmm Yeah: Right…a country that decriminalized sodomy in 1969 (34 years before the US did) and legalized same-sex marriages all across the country in 2005 (10 years before the US did)…you must 12, or you live under a rock in some swamp in Louisiana…or your IQ is simply under 80
jwtraveler
All these Christians who refuse to do anything that conflicts with their “religious belief” have a misconception that the world does or should operate based on THEIR OWN personal belief system. It doesn’t, and in diverse, pluralistic societies like the U.S. and Canada, it can’t.
Giancarlo85
@Ummmm Yeah: Apparently they have more of a backbone than the US does.
zoltan93
@Ummmm Yeah: actually we have laws protecting people from discrimination based on sexual orientation (unlike the U.S.) so he will probably get fired. We don’t put up with BS like this. In fact we have so much of a backbone that the first same sex marriages in modern history took place in Ontario in 2001! And our government legalized marriage equality in 2005 for the whole country. ??
Hussain-TheCanadian
@Ummmm Yeah: As a Canadian, I resent that – you should read the Canadian human rights charter my friend.
It would do the American public a whole lot of wonders if they adopt it.
Brian
Does he object to driving a bus with other forms of advertising on it that he doesn’t agree with?
Canada is such an open-minded place…not.
Captain Obvious
Need fake drama for attention? Whine about “the gays”.
Finrod
No one’s asked him to do it. And he hasn’t addressed his concerns to his boss, only to the media. He’s just a provocateur for the Christian jihadis.
zoltan93
@Brian: 1 ignorant bigoted Canadian in the news right not vs how many American ones?
RobvR
I think he’s got a good point but the last two paragraphs wiped away all the sympathy I had left. When god is more important to him than the law… Let’s hope that with a generation or two the majority of the orthodox christians has joined mainstream opinion or that they’re wiped out by some disease they didn’t want to vaccinate against.
Routemaster-Lengthened2313
I’ll drive it. I’m 15 but I’ll drive it.