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> The first amendment does not give you carte blanche to say anything you want at any time with no consequences. It simply says that the government can't lock y
by blendergeek 4y ago
> The first amendment does not give you carte blanche to say anything you want at any time with no consequences. It simply says that the government can't lock you up for it.
Correction: It says the government can't punish you for the speech. As a state school, BGSU is acting on behalf of the state and therefore must not violate first amendment free speech rights. Even though BGSU did not put professor Coons in prison for speech, firing Coons still violates the first amendment.
- dragonwriter 4y agoWhile public employees do have additional rights against their employers as a result of the Constitution that public employers don’t have, the First Amendment (rather, the 14th, as the 1st does not apply to the States) does not limit states as employers in the same way as it does states in other relations; states are not prohibited from regulating the workplace speech of their employees the same way they are prohibited from regulating speech generally outside of that context. Public employees have a qualified right to speak on matters of public concern as private citizens without employment consequences; the Ninth Circuit’s model jury instructions on the issue are illustrative of the state of the law on this: https://www.ce9.uscourts.gov/jury-instructions/node/147 https://www.ce9.uscourts.gov/jury-instructions/node/147