Liberty Counsel filed charges of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of bi-vocational Pastor Luke Ash who was unlawfully fired from his job as a library services technician for refusing to use false pronouns for a female colleague. The discrimination charges are against the City of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the East Baton Rouge Parish Library. The next step is for the EEOC to review the charges and investigate the library’s discriminatory employment practices. 

On October 17, 2025, Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to the library stating that Pastor Ash’s termination for upholding his religious beliefs about human sexuality violates the Louisiana Constitution, the Louisiana Protection of Religious Freedom Act, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The letter asks that the library reinstate Pastor Ash with backpay and revise its pronoun policy to respect the religious free exercise rights of all employees. Liberty Counsel also requested a response by November 10 but has not yet received a response at the time of this publication. 

The library’s “inclusivity policy” purports that employees have a “right” to choose their pronouns, which essentially mandates radical gender ideology and unconstitutionally compels employees to mouth their support in acceptance. However, Pastor Ash’s sincere religious beliefs that “gender identity” is inconsistent with God’s design for human sexuality prevent him from believing that a female worker is a man regardless of how she wishes to identify. As a Christian minister, he must speak truth and believes lying would cause harm to others, especially those experiencing gender confusion. When his library supervisors showed him the policy, Pastor Ash told them he was not going to lie. Shortly thereafter, Pastor Ash was fired according to the “inclusivity policy.”

Pastor Luke Ash

The discrimination charges state that Pastor Ash was not given an opportunity to apply for a Title VII religious accommodation because he was wrongfully terminated before he could do so.

“Neither the city nor the library made any attempt to accommodate Pastor Ash’s religious beliefs,” read the charges. “In fact, leadership retaliated against Mr. Ash for informing them about his beliefs, terminating him just a few days later, and for openly practicing his faith in the workplace.” 

This created a “hostile work environment” for him and any Christian who shares his sincerely held religious beliefs, concluded the charges. 

Liberty Counsel’s initial demand letter noted that under the First Amendment the state “may not compel affirmance of a belief with which the speaker disagrees.” Additionally, both the First Amendment and the Louisiana Constitution recognize and protect “religion” and religious “free exercise.” The library’s “inclusion policy” does not supersede these protections which afford Pastor Ash the freedom to speak or not speak at all, but when he must speak, that he has the right to affirm his beliefs. 

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Filing the discrimination charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are the next step to bring Pastor Luke Ash’s unlawful firing under appropriate scrutiny. The East Baton Rouge Parish Library violated the U.S. Constitution and Louisiana law for requiring Pastor Ash to refer to a female employee by masculine pronouns and then firing him for upholding his religious beliefs. The library also violated Title VII for not even considering a religious accommodation for Pastor Ash. There is no compelling interest in requiring Pastor Ash to lie or affirm false sex-based pronouns. Employers cannot force people to choose between their faith and their livelihood. The library has a chance to reinstate Pastor Ash and rectify this potentially costly mistake.”