• Log In
• Register
• Find Password

• home
• rss
• submissions
• masthead
• letter from the editor
• mra principles and goals
• lifestyles
• vLog

How to survive the coming food shortage.

3 Responses to “‘Pro-marriage’ sign leads to firing”

Flag this comment

1. amfortas

   2006-10-23 at 1:33 am

   Oy Vey, my life already. Never mind the quality, feel the width. “The word kilometer was spelled kilometre, that is a definite no-no!” Oh! Where? That’s how the word IS spelled. The Americans seem to be the only nation to make no distinction between the measurement (metre)and the instrument of measurement (meter).

   But that’s beside the point, along with all the management excuses. This man was simply expressing an opinion which is perfectly sound. The attempt to silence him, threaten him, harm him economically is the act of bigots, bullies and hypocrits. The arguement that supporting one group is effectively condemning another is erroneous.

   Our society seems hell bent on self-destruction. Language is as good a starting point as any.

   #20610
2. Roger Knight

   2006-10-22 at 11:39 pm

   Here are the legal issues as I see it:
   Mr. Padilla has every First Amendment right to express his support for a proposition before the Virginia voters.
   But a corporation has every right to control speech on its premises and during working hours. Given public policies about racial and sexual discrimination and on the job harassment, it needs to.
   However, covering the message on Mr. Padilla’s private vehicle while parked on company property was a reasonable accomodation of both employer’s and employee’s interest in their freedom of speech.
   The statements by corporate spokesmen eliminated any pretext defense (meaning he was fired for legitimate reasons unrelated to his exercise of First Amendment rights) that the employer might have.
   If I was an attorney for the employer, I would have advised corporate management to shut the (CENSORED) up! And start going over Padilla’s employment history for every time he showed up to work five minutes late and how he messed up on projects and such. Being human, Padilla is bound to be not perfect! The report he wrote that received such rave reviews by management contained a few spelling errors, missing punctuation marks and gasp! syntax and grammer mistakes! The word kilometer was spelled kilometre, that is a definite no-no!
   And did any of the Seven Words EVER slip out of his mouth during the work day? (Yes, I know, enforcing that rule would not leave much of a company left! The fired managers and employers could get together to form a new company and call it Seven Words International Services, Inc.!)
   Therefore his expression of his opinion on a ballot issue HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH OUR DECISION TO TERMINATE his employment!
   No suh!
   But they blew it by honestly stating to the media that he was fired for the message on his PERSONALLY AND PRIVATELY OWNED pick-up truck. Which he was willing to cover during the workday as an accomodation of his employer’s concerns.
   Now here is a test: Would this same company fire a female employee for wearing a hijab covering her hair and a veil across her face? I hear Muslims are even more opposed to gay rights than everyone else. Therefore, such expressions of their religion might be just as “harassing” of gay employees, vendors, customers, and clients as Mr. Padilla’s pick-up truck with its message supporting a proposition on the Virginia ballot.

   #20597
3. sgmlee

   2006-10-22 at 5:45 am

   Seems to be a first amendment issue.

   #20531