> Summers and Damore exercised their first amendment right to free speech. Since the government had no part in what happened to them, this is true in a trivial

> Summers and Damore exercised their first amendment right to free speech. Since the government had no part in what happened to them, this is true in a trivial sense. However, it does not support whatever argument you are trying to make. > ... first amendment right to freedom of association People like to trot this out as an defense but they forget that freedom of association is not unlimited precisely because of its use in the past for discrimination. (Deeply ironic, is it not?) For example, the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Fair Housing Act of 1968 restrict freedom of association in that they require businesses and landlords / property sellers to serve people in protected classes in a fair manner. Some states even already offer limited protection from employers who discriminate against political affiliation; see, for example http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1101 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection... .