This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
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."
