N-word fine, but 'family values' banned

A Christian organization fighting on behalf of religious and speech rights is going to the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge an appellate court decision that found municipal employers could censor words such as "marriage" and "family values" because they are hate speech and could scare workers.

At the same time, those municipal officials for the city of Oakland, Calif., were allowing employees to exchange epithets such as the N-word, the appeal said.

"To allow the lower court's ruling to stand exposes every public employee to outright censorship by a municipal employer for merely mentioning words such as the
'natural family,' 'marriage,' 'and 'family values,' issues which are at the forefront of national debate," said the appeal prepared by the Pro-Family Law Center.

Richard D. Ackerman, of the Pro-Family Law Center

"In fact, the lower courts' decisions could preclude a public employee from so much as mentioning the birth of one's child or the fact that they were just married because this might theoretically offend a co-worker," said the file in the case argued at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals level by Richard D. Ackerman, of the Pro-Family Law Center, as well as Scott Lively.

"We are simply unwilling to accept that Christians can be completely silenced on the issues of the day – especially on issues such as same-sex marriage, parental rights, and free speech rights," Ackerman told WND.

"If we fail to get U.S. Supreme Court review, however, it will be up to each individual Christian in the United States to stand up for their rights to be heard on the issues of the day. If we choose to be silent, silenced we shall be," he said.

The case involves the Good News Employee Association and two women, Regina Rederford and Robin Christy, who wanted to launch the organization among co-workers. They put up an announcement on an Oakland city bulletin board asking those interested in those "family" issues to contact them.

This came after the same bulletin board – as well as the city's e-mail system – had been used to promote speech "concerning war, health-care, peace, employee outsourcing, sports, racism, slavery, spirituality, hate, God, the Gay-Straight Employee Alliance, tolerance, homosexuality, 'coming out,' diversity, Christ, the Bible, sexuality, and a host of other topics," the appeal said.

None of those topics was a problem. However, their supervisors ordered the two Christians' announcement about Good News pulled down, and issued a warning that such "homophobic" literature could lead to penalties up to and including dismissal, the law firm said.

The decision was affirmed by the 9th Circuit, which issued an unpublished "memorandum." in the dispute.

It found that municipalities have a right to dictate what form an employee's speech may take, even if it is in regard to controversial public issues.

"Public employers are permitted to curtail employee speech as long as their 'legitimate administrative interests' outweigh the employee's interest in freedom of speech," said the court's opinion noted.

"The district court appropriately described [the Christians' speech rights] as 'vanishingly small,'" the opinion continued.

"This incredible and devastating ruling has had the practical effect of silencing hundreds, if not thousands, of City of Oakland employees who simply wish to talk about marriage and family values. To the extent that this ruling has been shared by Oakland with other cities, there is a huge risk that these rulings are being treated as precedent by other cities across the nation. In fact, one of the defendants is presently in charge of the Washington, D.C., school district," the Pro-Family firm said.

The two Christian women had brought a complaint over the censorship of their announcement against the city as well as Joyce Hicks, the deputy executive director of the Community & Economic Development Agency in Oakland, and Robert Bobb, as city manager.

The lawsuit developed in 2002 when the women chose to create the Good News Employee Association, "in response to Bible-bashing by ranking city officials and free rein given to radical left-wing groups over the city's e-mail and bulletin board systems," the law firm said.

The Pro-Family Law Center noted that city-approved e-mails have included establishing an "altar" for Day of the Dead, and one e-mail that was circulated said, "I personally think the good book (Bible) needs some updating…"

The Christians' notice said:

Good News Employee Associations is a forum for people of Faith to express their views on the contemporary issues of the day. With respect for the Natural Family, Marriage and Family values.

If you would like to be a part of preserving integrity in the Workplace call Regina Rederford @xxx- xxxx or Robin Christy @xxx-xxxx

"The mere publication of these words was met with a direct threat of termination from employment," the law center said. "[The women] have been absolutely chilled in the exercise of free speech and cannot afford to lose their jobs."

Meanwhile Oakland's Gay-Straight Employees Alliance "was openly allowed to attack the Bible in widespread city e-mails, to deride Christian values as antiquated, and to refer to Bible-believing Christians as hateful. When the plaintiffs attempted to refute this blatant attack on people of faith, they were threatened with immediate termination by the City of Oakland. The Ninth Circuit did not feel that the threat of immediate termination had any effect on free speech," the appeal said.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker had ruled in 2005 that Oakland had a right to prevent the employees from posting that Good News Employee Association flier promoting traditional family values on the office bulletin board.

"The city of Oakland has interpreted this district court's ruling to mean that Christianity has no place in our society and should be subject to punishment. I want to believe that our Supreme Court will ultimately decide this case on the values and instructions set forth in motion by the nations Founders," said Ackerman.

His arguments are based on the 1st Amendment and the 14th Amendments.

"With the likelihood of a lively and important national debate about same-sex relationships, religion, and the future of our nation in the upcoming 2008 presidential election, there exist compelling reasons for granting review in this case. If review is not granted, there is an imminent likelihood that thousands of California's Bay Area employees will be chilled in the exercise of free speech … or completely silenced during a time where friendly debate about national issues should not only be allowed but invited," the appeal said.

During Bobb's tenure, employees were allowed to discuss just about anything they wanted except for threatening or actual violence against other employees. "In fact, employees could actually refer to each other as 'niggers' or other such derogatory terms, as a form of 'workplace speech,'" the appeal said. "It's hard to believe Respondent Bobb would allow the term 'nigger' to be used …but not the terms 'natural family, marriage and family values.'"

Ackerman's firm represents the women and said the Pro-Family Law Center and Abiding Truth Ministries have helped underwrite the thousands of dollars it has cost to fight the city's aggressive promotion of the homosexual lifestyle.

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