Ken Bencomo says he was fired from his teaching position at a
Catholic school after he married his partner.
Bencomo and Christopher Persky were one of the first gay couples
to marry in San Bernardino, California after Proposition 8 was
repealed last month. News of their nuptials was reported in local
media.
But less than two weeks after the couple exchanged vows, Bencomo
says that he was terminated from his teaching job at St. Lucy's
Priory High School in Glendora, where he was head of the English
department and he coached the dance squad.
“Their reasoning was that he had gotten married and it was in
the papers,” Patrick McGarrigle, Bencomo's attorney, told CBS
Los Angeles. “The school's position was that it violated its
teachings.”
The 45-year-old Bencomo had been a teacher at St. Lucy's for 17
years.
McGarrigle said that school officials knew that Bencomo was gay.
“He's upset. He feels terrible for his students, who he cares
much about. He enjoys teaching very much,” McGarrigle said.
An
online petition asking the school to reinstate Bencomo has
received nearly 7,000 electronic signatures.