Border guard fired, ‘interrogated’ for saying pot should be legalized
ACLU slams 'ideological purity' test for government employees
As well they should.
In documents (PDF) filed in a federal court in west Texas last week, Bryan Gonzalez alleged that he lost his job in 2009 after telling a colleague on the Mexican border that he believed legalizing marijuana could reduce drug war violence.
Gonzalez was issued a termination letter stating that he was fired because he "held personal views that were contrary to the core characteristics of Border Patrol Agents, which are patriotism, dedication and esprit de corps," according to the lawsuit.
"I was asked if I wanted to overthrow the American government," he said. "I was asked if I was a socialist."
But his only transgression was to say that legalizing marijuana would "eliminate a lot of unnecessary deaths."
"Firing a public servant because of their political opinions is an egregious violation of the First Amendment," Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU's New Mexico branch, said in an email.
"We cannot require nor should we expect uniformity of thought within our law enforcement institutions," he continued. "Purging the ranks of government employees who fail 'ideological purity' tests is about as un-American as it gets."
No shit. Un-American is the New American Way on the right.
"Ideological purity" is a right-wing thing, and there's an awful lot of money to be made in Border Enforcement and The War On Some Drugs. Even a casual disagreeing statement, no matter how true, is sufficient to complete the offense.
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