Christian Groups Reach Out to Fired Reporter

A reporter who was fired from his job at a Maine newspaper after voicing his support of the state's same-sex marriage ban in November is getting legal guidance from two Christian organizations.

After receiving a press release from the Human Rights Campaign the day after state voters repealed a law that would have allowed gay marriage law, reporter Larry Grard fired off an e-mail at the organization.

"Who are the hateful, venom-spewing ones?" he wrote in from his personal e-mail address. "Hint: Not the Yes on 1 crowd. You hateful people have been spreading nothing but vitriol since this campaign began. Good riddance!"

Grard, an 18-year veteran of the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, was fired shortly after the management at parent company MaineToday Media found out about the e-mail. Management denied that the firing was related to his anti-gay marriage views. The newspaper's employee union negotiated a settlement for Grard, but he has not accepted it.

Now the Catholic League of New York and the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission of California are providing legal counsel to him as he weighs future legal moves, according to the Bangor Daily News.

He said he wrote to the HRC because he felt its message was anti-Christian.