BATON ROUGE — A lawsuit was filed by a local pastor after he was fired from the East Baton Rouge Parish Library for allegedly refusing to use a co-worker's preferred pronouns.

Reverend Luke Ash, lead pastor at Stevendale Baptist Church, filed a lawsuit on Thursday, claiming that the library fired him due to his religious beliefs, which allegedly prevented him from using a co-worker's preferred gender pronouns.

According to Liberty Counsel, a Christian civil liberties law firm representing Ash, in July 2025, following Ash's refusal to call a library co-worker by their preferred pronouns, supervisors allegedly reminded him of the library's policy, which entitles employees to be addressed by their chosen name and pronouns. 

The lawsuit states that following this encounter, Ash's employment was terminated, with the library claiming it was due to his refusal to use preferred pronouns. 

In the lawsuit, Ash claimed that the library's inclusivity policy violated his First Amendment rights and requested to be reinstated to his former position along with backpay and damages.