May City Government Require a Fire Fighter to March in a "Gay Pride" Parade?

Update: According to news reports, the Fire Chief has apologized and agreed to launch an internal investigation of the fire fighters complaint. I doubt if the city will ever again compel a fire fighter to march in a controversial parade.

This reminds me that sometimes even a weak case can be won outside of court when the facts of the litigation are published in local (or national) media. If the facts are embarrassing and outrageous, government officials are often anxious to make amends in order to make you and your complaint go away.

Dean Willborn questions the ethics of filing a frivolous lawsuit merely to embarass the governmental defendant. The key words there are "frivolous" and "merely." No?

By the way, here is a link to the complaint filed by the fire fighters.


There is a recent case in San Diego involving 4 city firemen who were ordered to march in a "gay pride" parade. Here is an excerpt from the press release put out by the Thomas More Law Center, which is representing the firemen:


Four respected San Diego firefighters were ordered, against their wishes, to participate in uniform on their city fire truck in the city’s annual “Gay Pride” parade. During the course of the ensuing three hour long ordeal, the firefighters were subjected to vile sexual taunts from homosexuals lining the parade route. This included the following statements: “show me your hose,” “you can put out my fire,” “you’re making me hot,” “give me mouth-to-mouth,” “you look hungry, why don’t you have a twinkie (from a man wearing a “Girth and Mirth” t-shirt),” and “blow my hose.” These firemen are devoted husbands and fathers. When they refused to respond to the crowd, some in the crowd turned hostile and started shouting, “F—k you firemen” and others began “flipping them off.”

San Diego area attorney, Charles LiMandri, the West Coast Director of the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is representing the firefighters in their legal claims against the city. LiMandri was also the lead counsel in the successful Mt. Soledad Cross case in San Diego. A 52 year native San Diegan, LiMandri stated: “What happened to these dedicated public servants was inexcusable. The City should have known from past experience the kind of offensive activities that go on at this event. This was a clear case of sexual harassment in violation of state and federal law as well as the City’s own code of conduct.”

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center added, “These firefighters dedicated their lives to save the lives of others. They did not sign on to become unwilling props to a controversial political and social agenda.”

Continued Thompson, “The constitutional right to free speech also protects the right not to speak. These men should not have to explain to their families, friends and church congregations that their presence at a celebration of lewdness and obscenity in support of the homosexual agenda was because they were forced there by way of a direct order. This is a clear violation of their constitutional rights, and the City must be held accountable. It should never happen again to any city employee.”


May city government compel its employees to march in a parade designed to endorse a controversial ideological position? Would the Free Exercise Clause protect a fireman whose objections were based on sincerely held religious beliefs? What about the right of religious belief? What about the right not to be compelled to affirm a belief with which you disagree?