A Christian lifeguard for the Los Angeles County Fire Department who says he was punished for his religious beliefs after objecting to Pride flag duties is headed toward trial.

Captain Jeffrey Little, a veteran of more than 20 years in the L.A. County Fire Department’s Lifeguard Division, sued Los Angeles County and several fire department supervisors in 2024 after the county adopted a policy in 2023 requiring the Progress Pride flag be flown at county facilities throughout June to honor LGBTQ Pride month.

Little, a devout Christian, argued the policy conflicted with his religious beliefs about marriage and sexuality and sought a religious accommodation exempting him from personally raising the flag or ensuring subordinates raised it. Little said the county initially granted this accommodation before revoking it just two days later.

Little took down several flags and was later placed under investigation and ultimately suspended for 15 days without pay.

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The county says Little was not punished for his religious beliefs but for taking down government-issued Pride flags without authorization and violating department policy.

Little’s attorney, Paul Jonna of the Thomas More Society, told Fox News Digital that Little took down the flags under the belief he was acting within the accommodation granted by the county and with the understanding that some stations were not required to fly the Pride flag because they lacked sufficient clasps under the county’s own flag policy. Jonna said other Pride flags had previously been removed from stations earlier that month for the same reason.

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Source: Fox News US