A pitched battled over a bumper sticker on a car belonging to a volunteer for the Washington State Park and Recreation Commission is over, and the solution included a change in policy for the state agency.
That’s so that no volunteer has to again endure the chilling or muzzling of their own speech – “as a condition of their service.”
The news of the solution comes from the American Center for Law and Justice, which worked on behalf of Gary Formals, a former U.S. Navy chief.
Formals, an “Award of Excellence” winner for his service, was ordered to remove his pro-Trump political bumper stickers from his personal vehicle “as a condition of his continued volunteer service and part-time employment with the park system,” the legal team explained.
He explained to officials they weren’t allowed to order that, as that would violate his constitutional rights.
“He was right,” the legal team reported.
“Upon learning of the park’s unlawful treatment of Gary, the ACLJ immediately filed suit against WA State Park and requested that the court declare the policy – as written and applied – unconstitutional and award Gary damages for the violation of these constitutional rights and payment for lost wages resulting from his forced resignation from his part-time position,” the team reported.
“The First Amendment does not allow government officials to censor the speech of their employees unless the speech negatively impacts the efficient administration of the workplace. That was certainly not the case here. Even though park officials knew about Gary’s political bumper stickers for years, they never did anything about them. It wasn’t until a visitor to the park voiced her outrage about Gary’s bumper stickers, which she described as ‘insurrectionalist [sic],’ that the Park decided to give Gary an ultimatum: your speech or your job,” the ACLJ reported.
The policy used to attack Formals was “wildly overbroad,” and said: “Do not express, display, broadcast, distribute or otherwise communicate to the public any personal opinions, messages or points of view while performing host duties, wearing the host vest, or while occupying the host site. This includes the display of expressive items such as stickers, flags, signs, and clothing.”
The legal team noted that would forbid employees even from engaging in “chitchat” with visitors, over fear a “personal opinion” would be expressed.
“Statements like ‘It’s a beautiful day,’ ‘I love the Seattle Mariners,’ or ‘It’s right for the government to support public parks’ were all forbidden.”
After the lawsuit was filed, the state agency admitted that a change of language was needed, and the new policy now requires “professional, friendly, polite” interaction between park hosts and the public.
Also, that behavior must be “in a safe manner.”
The ACLU said the new requirements recognize “the important balance between maintaining the efficiency of the public parks and protecting the free speech rights of its volunteers and employees.”
IMPORTANT NOTE TO WND READERS: America – long the freest, most prosperous, powerful, altruistic and Christian nation on earth – is on the brink of destruction. Every decent and aware American adult knows this. The evidence is everywhere.
Democrat politicians today overwhelmingly favor late-term abortion up to the very moment of birth – formerly known as “infanticide.” They encourage children too young to drive or vote to have their breasts and/or sex organs amputated in pursuit of a “gender transition” that is both delusional and impossible, and which leads to staggering rates of depression and suicide. They have not just allowed, but ENGINEERED, a full-scale foreign invasion of America across her southern border.
Their standard bearer, President Joe Biden – a senile, pathologically dishonest and epically corrupt career political hack – is destroying America’s economy, energy sector, military, law enforcement, election integrity, national security, Constitution and overall national wellbeing as rapidly as possible. At the same time, Team Biden demonizes and, increasingly, IMPRISONS critics as “violent extremists,” “domestic terrorists,” “white supremacists” and “insurrectionists.” Indeed, they’re currently engaged in an obviously corrupt multi-front legal war against Biden’s chief political rival, Donald J. Trump, in an attempt to send the 45th president of the United States to prison for the rest of his life.
None of this constitutes “politics” in any conventional or traditional American sense. Rather, it is all darkly spiritual. The greatest nation on earth is in the throes of a full-blown spiritual war between good and evil.
The big question, then, is WHAT CAN BE DONE TO SAVE AMERICA? Fortunately, real answers and uncommon wisdom are showcased in the December issue of WND’s critically acclaimed monthly Whistleblower magazine, “CAN AMERICA BE SAVED? The world’s freest, most Christian nation is on the brink of destruction.”
In this very special issue, readers will experience the best and deepest thoughts and strategies on how to restore America to her former goodness and greatness, from some of the nation’s most respected analysts – everyone from Tucker Carlson to Dennis Prager to Victor Davis Hanson to Newt Gingrich and many more.
WHISTLEBLOWER is available in both the popular print edition and a state-of-the-art digital version, either single issues or discounted annual subscriptions.
For 25 years, WND has boldly brought you the news that really matters. If you appreciate our Christian journalists and their uniquely truthful reporting and analysis, please help us by becoming a WND Insider!
Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].
SUPPORT TRUTHFUL JOURNALISM. MAKE A DONATION TO THE NONPROFIT WND NEWS CENTER. THANK YOU!
