Rees Lloyd is a civil rights attorney and Veterans activist who writes for several entities including the Victoria Taft Blog
THOMAS MORE LAW CENTER WINS WORKERS RIGHTS; LAWSUIT IMPORTANT TO PORTLAND
by REES LLOYD
A very important case pertaining to public sector workers’ rights has just been decided in California. It is of particular pertinence to Portland in light of the controversy surrounding Mayor Sam Adams, who has belatedly admitted he lied about his homosexual affair with a teenage boy in order to get elected, and who will be controlling city employment policies in Portland if he continues to refuse to resign.
In California, Attorney Charles S. Limandri, Regional Director of the Thomas More Law Center, has won a jury verdict for four San Diego Firefighters who were ordered, over their objection, to participate — on duty, in uniform, and at taxpayer-expense — in a “Gay Pride” parade endorsing homosexuality and sodomy in San Diego.
The Fire Fighters, all four husbands, fathers, Christians, and heterosexuals who neither endorse nor practice sodomy, were ordered, upon pain of adverse employment action, to participate in the Gay Rights Parade endorsing homosexuality and sodomy by order of the San Diego Fire Chief, reportedly a lesbia n who has a political interest in advocacy and governmental endorsement of both.
The four Fire Fighters, ordered that they must participate in the parade or face disciplinary action, followed the “obey now, grieve later” rule of labor law and participated in the Gay Pride Parade, in uniform, on a fire truck. They endured three hours of “vile sexual taunts and gestures.” according to the Thomas More Law Center. These included many displays of genitalia by exhibitionist homosexuals anxious to offend the firefighters. Such lewd conduct, although ordinarily prohibited under local ordinances, is, reportedly, often a feature of gay pride parades, while apparently never resulting in arrests and prosecutions, so as not to offend the gay community being honored by governmentally endorse parade.
After the parade, the fire fighters sought help from the Thomas More Law Center and brought suit to challenge a governmental employer’s power to order public sector employees to participate in political events, in this instance, a parade advocating homosexuality and sodomy, as a condition of employment, on duty, at taxpayer-expense. The Fire Fighters argued that imposition of such a condition of employment violated their rights.
Represented by trial attorney Charles S. Limandri, Regional Director of the Thomas More Law Center, the Fire Fighters have now won a jury verdict which sets a precedent protecting all public sector workers who may be ordered to participate in parades or other political expressions of causes which are contrary to their own political or religious views, and protects taxpayers whose taxes pay those employees to protect them, not advance political agendas of homosexuals or others in parades.
Limandri, volunteer attorney and Regional Director of the Thomas More Law Center, who has a reputation as an outstanding20trial attorney, has gained national recognition as the lead attorney fighting to save the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial in San Diego, was joined in the defense of the Fire Fighters by Joseph Infranco, Senior Attorney of the Alliance Defense Fund, which has represented The American Legion Department of California in the fight to save the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial which the ACLU has been suing to destroy for some 19 years of litigation because of the presence of a cross there. (The ACLU did not come forward to defend the rights of the San Diego Fire Fighters.)
Although the City of San Diego announced it was changing its policy on coerced participation in the Gay Pride parade after the Fire Fighters sued (apparently to escape liability), what the government giveth the government can take away. Therefore, the Fire Fighters pursued their case and now have a precedent to block any attempt to reinstate the prior policy upon political whim or self-interested orders of homosexual politicians or bureaucrats.
While the jury’s decision in this second trial (the first ended in a hung jury) may be deplored by homosexual advocates, supporting homophiliacs, or practicing sodomites, the fact is that the Fire Fighters, Limandri and Thomas More Law Center,=2 0assisted by Joe Infranco and the Alliance Defense Fund, have successfully defended the right of all public sector employees not to be coerced as a condition of employment into participation and thereby apparent advocacy of political causes with which they disagree.
Simply stated: If public sector employees can be compelled as a condition of employment to participate in pro-homosexual parades today, they can be compelled as a condition in future to participate in anti-homosexual parades tomorrow.
Indeed, no public sector employee should have his or her public service employment distorted into service of the political aims, whims, biases, or sexual preferences of bureaucrats or politicians in power.
This is generally true, and particularly true in Portland, where newly-elected Mayor Sam Adams, whose homosexual interest is so dominate that he now admits to dates and a prolonged kiss with a 17-year-old boy in the city hall men’s room; sodomy with the lad after he turned 18 (age of consent); lying about the homosexual affair in his political campaign for mayor and condemning his accusers as homophobic liars; and persuading h is young lover to lie about the affair so as to hide the truth from the voting public.
Thomas More Law Center’s West Coast Director Charles LiMandri stated, after the jury returned its verdict for the Fire Fighters: “This is a victory for all people who are willing to stand up for what is right when it comes to defending our basic freedoms of speech and religion. No one should be forced to be subjected to sexual harassment on the job – not even male heterosexual firefighters who are bein g harassed by homosexual men at a Gay Pride Parade. All city officials should now think twice before ever making such a wrongheaded decision to violate their employees’ rights in such an improper manner again.”
I am gratified to report that in an interview with Charles Limandri, he assured me that if Portland Mayor Sam Adams purports to order city employees to participate in parades endorsing or advocating Adams’ homosexuality, that Limandri and the Thomas More Law Center will be ready, willing, and able to assist in defending Portland workers’ right to be free from such abuse.