St. Lucy's Priory High School

Lilly Fowler 8-13-2013
Nicholas Coppola (left) with his husband David Crespo at home. Photo via RNS/Nic

Nicholas Coppola (left) with his husband David Crespo at home. Photo via RNS/Nicholas Coppola

Support for a Roman Catholic high school teacher fired for marrying his same-sex partner continued to grow Monday as the number of people signing an online petition topped 58,000 people.

Ken Bencomo taught English at St. Lucy’s Priory High School in the Los Angeles suburb of Glendora for 17 years. He was fired last month after an article in the Southern California newspaper Inland Valley Daily Bulletin published a story and video about his wedding.

Bencomo, 45, and his husband, Christopher Persky, 32, were one of the first gay couples to marry on July 1, after a U.S. Supreme Court decision cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California.