(Patriot.Buzz) – In a stark warning of what could happen to America if Democrats win this fall, the governor of Pennsylvania sparked widespread outrage for issuing an executive order that violates state employees’ First Amendment rights.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is gearing up for a legal showdown, arguing that the order unjustly restricts free speech.
FIRE has challenged Governor Josh Shapiro’s order, which imposes broad restrictions on public employees.
Shapiro has banned said employees from making statements that could be perceived as “scandalous” or “disgraceful” even off duty.
FIRE describes this as “an impossibly vague restriction effectively prohibiting wide swaths of speech protected by the First Amendment.”
“Free speech is the keystone of our democracy, and today it’s threatened in the Keystone State by Gov. Shapiro,” said the foundation’s chief of public advocacy Aaron Terr.
“No elected official can slap a gag order like this on state workers. This is an abuse of power, and we’re looking forward to challenging this flagrant government overstep in court,” Terr explained.
The contentious order applies to a wide range of state employees, including teachers, toll booth operators, librarians and linemen, which FIRE asserts is “flatly unconstitutional.”
Although previous attempts to address these concerns through a letter to Shapiro’s office went unanswered, FIRE is now taking its fight public.
“The state is strategically putting all the chess pieces in place to punish everyday Americans for nothing more than saying something the government doesn’t like,” Terr added.
FIRE’s opposition centers on the use of vague and subjective terms like “scandalous” and “disgraceful,” which they argue could cover a wide array of protected speech.
Fire also pointed out that while the state can regulate speech related to employees’ job duties, it cannot unduly restrict their right to speak as citizens on matters of public concern.
This stance is supported by precedents set by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which previously paused state agency efforts to ban political expressions, such as wearing political masks at work.
The legal controversy stems from a recent modification in the administration’s code of conduct, which subtly expanded the scope of restricted activities to include speech.
The administration has also issued warnings against expressions of “antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of hate speech.”
Copyright 2024, Patriot.Buzz
