Rookie Georgia police officer resigns after department bars him from expressing views on traditional marriage

 Rookie Georgia police officer Jacob Kersey resigned after his superiors threatened to terminate him for expressing his views on traditional marriage, the Daily Signal reported today.

"I never would have thought I would have been placed in a situation where I have to choose between my Christian faith and my dream job," 19-year-old Kersey said Wednesday in a Facebook post. "I am grateful for the opportunity that I was given to be a police officer. I do not take that honor and responsibility lightly. However, my integrity and Christian beliefs are at the core of who I am, and I will not abandon them," he added.

Kersey's career in law enforcement was cut short following a brief Facebook post on January 2, 2023, the Daily Signal reported. In the post, he expressed a widely-held religious belief that marriage, designed by God, does not include homosexual unions.

"God designed marriage. Marriage refers to Christ and the church," Kersey said in the post. "That's why there is no such thing as homosexual marriage," the post concluded.

The next day, Kersey's supervisor requested he remove the post; Kersey refused, and was warned he could be terminated if he did not comply, according to the Daily Signal's reporting. Shortly after that, Maj. Bradwick L. Sherrod ordered him to "return everything he had that belonged to the city," and Kersey was placed on paid administrative leave while the city investigated, the outlet also reported.

After a week's worth of leave, Kersey faced a "Sophie's Choice" situation. He could either keep his job or keep silent on social media about his religious beliefs. Though he was told he would not be fired, he would also not be permitted to share his "interpretation or opinion of Scripture if it was deemed offensive," the outlet continued.

Department leadership formalized its position in a letter to Kersey dated January 13, which was obtained by the Daily Signal. In the letter, Port Wentworth Police Department's Major Sherrod says, in part, "After reviewing your Podcast and social media platforms. . .we did not find sufficient evidence to establish a violation of any policies. . . However, the posts, podcasts, and so forth found and considered in our investigation likely offensive to protected classes . . . please be reminded that if any post on any of your social media platforms, or any other statement or action, renders you unable to perform, and to be seen as able to perform, your job in a fair an equitable manner, you could be terminated."