CHICAGO, February 23, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com)
By Terry Vanderheyden
An
employee of the Allstate Insurance Company, fired from his
job for comments that appeared in a men’s journal denouncing
same-sex “marriage” in December 2004 has settled out of
court.
J. Matt
Barber was fired last February after his commentary on
same-sex “marriage” appeared in the on line journal
MensNewsDaily.com, even though the statement was penned in
his own spare time and from home. A homosexual activist
group had complained to Allstate after reading the article
and noticing that Barber’s bio mentioned that he was an
employee there. Barber said the magazine added the bio
information without his knowledge.
Barber
enlisted the help of the Christian Law Association and David
Gibbs III, the lawyer acting on behalf of the Schindlers,
the parents of Terri Schiavo who were trying to prevent her
death from euthanasia. Barber has settled out of court; no
mention of a dollar figure was revealed, according to a
WorldNetDaily report.
“My family
and I feel like a weight has been lifted,” he said. “We’re
in a position now where we can move forward with our
lives.”
Lawyers
for both sides told U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve Thursday
that they had resolved the case out of court. In his suit
filed in May, Barber contended that his article, Intolerance
Will Not Be Tolerated! The Gay Agenda vs. Family Values was
penned on his own time. Allstate claimed they have never
fired someone for their personal views, but that Barber had
used company time and computers for his editorial.
Illinois
Family Institute head Peter LaBarbera said he was pleased
with news of the settlement. “I think Allstate saw the
writing on the wall,” he said, as reported by the Chicago
Tribune. “I think they would have lost a lot of business
over this.”
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