Judge wants to know if bizman repulsed by gays

[Amelia]

Judge wants to know if bizman repulsed by gays

BY ADAM LISBERG

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, July 5th 2007

A Queens business owner has been ordered to testify whether he believes gays and lesbians are repulsive and doomed to eternal damnation - although he says those views are constitutionally protected religious beliefs.

The court ruling came in a suit filed by John Fairchild, 58, who claims he was fired from his job a day after telling his boss that his daughter is a lesbian and he is gay.

Fairchild claims that Ted Doudak, president of Riva Jewelry Manufacturing in Long Island City, regularly quoted the Bible at work while saying gays and lesbians are repulsive. Doudak declined to comment; his lawyer, Todd Krakower, denies the allegations.

Fairchild's lawyer, William Kaiser, sought to quiz Doudak about his religious beliefs before trial, asking if Doudak "believes that 'homosexuality is a sin against God' ... believes that 'gays and lesbians are doomed to eternal damnation' ... [or] regards homosexuals as 'repulsive.'"

Krakower said that being forced to answer those questions would violate Doudak's First Amendment rights, and Fairchild would try to use Doudak's beliefs as proof he intended to illegally discriminate.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead last month ordered Doudak to answer, saying no one can use their right to religious freedom "as a cloak for acts of discrimination or as a justification of [discriminatory] practices."

Fairchild couldn't be reached for comment.

"A lot of discrimination against homosexuals has a religious motivation," Kaiser told the Daily News. "People who hold those views have to know they can't act on them with regard to employment."

Krakower said Doudak may appeal the ruling, which he fears could set a dangerous precedent.

"You're attacking perceived religious affiliation in an attempt to make a claim," Krakower said. "He's trying to prove a case through religious affiliation, and that's improper."

In the meantime, Riva has five job openings posted on its Web site, with the phrase "Riva is an Equal Opportunity Employer."