A day after the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage, Ryan Uhler made a comment on social media claiming he wanted to marry his dog, according to The Huffington Post.
“How is marrying a dog different if you love them?” Uhler said on his Facebook account June 27. “Today I hope we can focus on doggy-style love. I love my dog Rocco, and he loves me. Hopefully one day we can be married.”
What Uhler thought was a harmless joke was what soon led to him being unemployed. On July 30, Grace Investment Group in Cape Coral fired 32-year-old Uhler from his position as a digital marketing specialist.
Uhler said company officials told him the Facebook post was the reason he was being fired and claimed they were uncomfortable with his mentioning of bestiality.
“I was blindsided,” said Uhler to The Huffington Post. “I didn’t think anyone there knew how to use Facebook.”
Uhler claims he didn’t mean anything discriminatory by the post, and is not against the Supreme Court’s decision. However, he also admits he knew that linking same-sex marriage to an animal wedding is a cliche that often stirs the pot in the LGBT community.
“I’m very neutral about politics,” Uhler said, who is a married man himself. “Sometimes, I will try and get a reaction to spark comments and responses. I really didn’t want to offend. I have gay people I know and love and I wouldn’t want to offend them, but they know my sense of humor.”
While the employment termination came abruptly, trial lawyer Scot Goldberg told WZVN the company was within their rights. Florida is an “at will” state, which means employers can fire workers for any reason and without notice, according to WTSP.com.
“I think going to the point where they’re firing someone is a little bit over the line,” said Uhler, who claims his former employer did not warn him of social media polices. “The reason I’m coming forward about this is that I don’t want anyone to make the same mistake I did about posting jokes like this on Facebook.”
