“Freedom of speech and freedom of religion are under attack!” was the motto of protestors rallying outside the Georgia state capitol this week.

The protestors, who are being lead by the Family Research Council, are upset over the recent termination of Atlanta’s homophobic fire chief Kelvin Cochran.

Cochran was let go from his job with the city after it was discovered he had self-published an e-book called Who Told You That You Were Naked, in which he refers to homosexuality as unclean, inappropriate, vile, and vulgar.

This week, the FRC and its devout Christian followers delivered a petition with nearly 40,000 signatures to city hall in support of Cochran.

“The naked truth is that the actions taken against the chief are designed to send a message that will silence Christians and in effect force them to check their faith at the door of public service,” Tony Perkins, president of the FRC, said.

Cochran himself made an appearance at the rally. In a rousing speech, he denied accusations that his religious beliefs created a hostile work environment, as some have claimed, and said that no member of the LGBT community was discriminated against under his watch.

“There are grave consequences for publicly expressing our faith,” he told the crowd, “and having the audacity to believe that sex was created for procreation and should be in the bonds of holy matrimony between a man and a woman.”

“All people, groups are welcomed and embraced in the city of Atlanta,” he continued, “except the groups that believe the scripture regarding God’s purpose for sex.”

But city officials insist Cochran’s termination has nothing to do with his religious beliefs.

“The city’s nondiscrimination policy is nonnegotiable,” mayor Kasim Reed said in a statement. “Neither race, nor gender, nor religion, nor creed, nor sexual orientation, nor physical ability, nor gender identity will be used to discriminate against any city of Atlanta employee.”

Reed has explained multiple times that the city requires all employees to first seek permission and obtain approval before publishing a book, which he says Cochran never did. Reed also claims the way in which Cochran handled the situation (i.e. rallying on the steps of the state capitol with one of the most notorious antigay groups in America) has demonstrated an “irreconcilable lapse in judgment.”

“His actions around the book, his statements during the investigation, eroded my confidence,” Reed said.

Of course, Cochran isn’t buying the mayor’s excuses.

“One thing we should not have to sacrifice are the freedoms inherit in our great nation,” Cochran told the crowd this week, “Free speech and freedom of religion.”

Related stories:

Atlanta’s Fire Chief In Hot Water For Self-Publishing Creepy Antigay Book Online

Homophobic Fire Chief In Atlanta Gets Canned Over Antigay E-Book

The Supreme Court has announced that it will consider four cases that are challenging states’ bans on same-sex marriage in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. From the Court’s order:

The cases are consolidated and the petitions for writs of certiorari are granted limited to the following questions:

1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?

2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?

A total of ninety minutes is allotted for oral argument on Question 1. A total of one hour is allotted for oral argument on Question 2. The parties are limited to filing briefs on the merits and presenting oral argument on the questions presented in their respective petitions. The briefs of petitioners are to be filed on or before 2 p.m., Friday, February 27, 2015. The briefs of respondents are to be filed on or before 2 p.m., Friday, March 27, 2015. The reply briefs are to be filed on or before 2 p.m., Friday, April 17, 2015.

SCOTUS Blog reports that the cases are set to be heard the week of April 24. Lyle Deniston of SCOTUS Blog weighed in on the impact the justices’ decisions will have:

Taking on a historic constitutional challenge with wide cultural impact, the Supreme Court on Friday afternoon agreed to hear four ne cases on same-sex marriage.   The Court said it would rule on state power to ban gay and lesbian marriage and state power to refuse to recognize such marriages performed out of state.  A total of one hour of ninety minutes for the hearings, likely in the April sitting.

The New York Times has heralded the decision as a move by the court to definitively decide whether same-sex couples can marry nationwide:

The pace of change on same-sex marriage, in both popular opinion and in the courts, has no parallel in the nation’s history.

Based on the court’s failure to act in October [when 5 other states sought intervention from the Court to prevent same-sex marriage from taking hold] and its last three major gay rights rulings, most observers expect the court to establish a nationwide constitutional right to same-sex marriage. But the court also has a history of caution in this area.

It agreed once before to hear a constitutional challenge to a same-sex marriage ban, in 2012 in a case called Hollingsworth v. Perry that involved California’s Proposition 8. At the time, nine states and the District of Columbia allowed same-sex couples to marry.

Be sure to check back for legal analysis from Towleroad’s legal eagle, Ari Ezra Waldman. And read the order below:

SCOTUS by towleroad

Developing…

Adam Lambert’s American Idol story has come full circle: from nervous audition-er to “superstar” judge. While shooting a round of auditions with Harry Connick Jr. and Jennifer Lopez for the upcoming season of the popular singing contest, Connick asked Lambert if he would be willing to recreate his original audition for the show from season 8. The current Queen frontman originally auditioned with the Queen uber classic, “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Foreshadowing of things to come. Lambert took Connick’s challenge and delivered a pitch perfect performance even better than his original.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…

Lambert has also just announced a new album that marks the beginning of a partnership with Warner Bros. music. Said Warner Bros. CEO Cameron Strang of his decision to sign Lambert after Lambert left RCA, 

“The potential is worldwide superstar. He has fans all over the world. He’s he’s got one of the great voices and he’s coming into his own as a person and as a man. He more comfortable with himself and his artistic vision of himself and I think there’s a confidence and a freedom that comes with having made more than one record.”

Lambert’s new album will see him re-team with Swedish pop god Max Martin (“Baby One More Time”) and Shellback, who together gave Lambert the hits “Whataya Want From Me” and “If I Had You” off his debut album “For Your Entertainment.” 

Lambert told Billboard that this new album feels like a departure for him: “The album feels like a new era for me — emotionally, lyrically, sonically. It feels fresh, it feels new. It’s still me. It’s still stuff that fans know and love but it’s a new chapter 100 percent.”

The first single is due out in April.