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Left: Teacher Lonnie Billard discusses being fired from his teaching job because he posted about his plans to get married. Right: A sign for Charlotte Catholic High School in Charlotte, NC is shown. (Screengrabs via WCNC). A federal appeals court revoked a gay drama teacher’s legal victory Wednesday when it ruled that a Catholic high school is entitled to fire him for marrying his boyfriend. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that recent Supreme Court precedent allowed Charlotte Catholic High School (CCHS) in Charlotte, North Carolina, to discriminate against teacher Lonnie Billard, because teachers fall within an exception to federal anti-discrimination law. ‘Teacher of the Year’ fired after saying he would marry Billard was a longtime English and drama teacher at CCHS and he sued the school for sex discrimination under Title VII after he was fired for his plans to marry his same-sex partner. The district court granted Billard’s motion for summary judgment in 2021, but the Fourth Circuit reversed and ruled that as a drama teacher, Billard “played a vital role as a messenger of CCHS’s faith,” and that therefore, his employment falls under the ministerial exception to Title […]