Posted on 12/31/2014 11:38:36 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The Supreme Court of Rhode Island has unanimously ruled that that the constitutional rights of two Catholic Providence firefighters were not violated when they were forced to drive a fire truck in a gay pride parade despite their religious objections to the homosexual lifestyle.
Prior to the 2001 Providence gay pride parade, Roman Catholic firefighters Theodore Fabrizio and Stephen Deninno were assigned by the city to drive a fire truck in the parade. Although the two men asked city officials to to be reassigned in light of their religious objection to homosexuality, their request for reassignment was denied.
After 10 years of litigation, the five-judge court voted to throw out the case. Justice William Robinson, who wrote on behalf of all five judges, stated that despite the firefighters' religious objections, their role of driving the fire truck during a ceremonial gay pride parade was deemed a "legitimate" fire department "work assignment." He additionally wrote that their constitutional rights were not violated because their role was "relatively anonymous."
"The respondents' appearance in the parade, solely as members of the Providence Fire Department, did not constitute a form of expression on their part," Robinson wrote. "Rather, it was simply the accomplishing of a task assigned to an engine of the Providence Fire Department."
After being required to drive in the gay parade, the two firefighters filed a lawsuit against the city's then-Mayor Buddy Cianci and Fire Chief James Rattigan in 2004. The two firefighters claimed that their freedom of speech and freedom of religion had been violated when they were forced to participate in such an event that went against their religious morals.
Throughout the legal process, Cianci, who was forced to resign from office twice due to felony convictions, maintained that driving a fire truck in the gay parade was no different from the number of other parades that the Providence Fire Department is asked to provide a fire truck for.
"Our policy was to send a fire truck to any parade that made the request, if one was available and the truck's participation did not compromise public safety," Cianci said. "Why should the gay-pride parade be any different than the St. Patrick's Day Parade, the Purim Parade, or any parade in Providence? It shouldn't, and it wasn't."
The court agreed with Cianci's notion that since driving in parades is a legitimate work task for the fire department, the two men cannot claim religious objection when they're expected to complete such a task.
Robinson wrote that no other court case or case law has ever supported the firefighters' claim that "employees' rights are violated if they happen to possess religious objection to the beliefs of the group with which an otherwise legitimate work assignment requires brief interaction."
"Respondents received an order to participate in the parade because their engine company was assigned to the task; it is uncontested that such orders were common," Robinson wrote. "After receiving this work assignment from their employer (the regularity of which has not been questioned), respondents participated in the parade merely as relatively anonymous public servants."
Somebody might have seen them and thought they were homos? Was there any kind of disclaimer on the truck that these two are normal?
I guess all they got left is to take a sick day. (cough, cough)
I’m paraphrasing from the article but it sounds like they send a fire truck to ANY party that requests one for a parade? So.... NAMBLA wants a parade with a fire truck. Do they get one?
Just wonder what the response would have been from the court if they were muzzies.
Outrageous decision.
That’s liberal Rhode Island. Presumably there were plenty of others who could have driven the trucks. And there was plenty of time to find alternative drivers? So why force these two to drive in the parade?
Second, this is not really part of the job of being a fireman. Maybe they thought it was good publicity of the first departments, but how can they justify forcing people to take part?
I doubt whether these judges would force anyone to drive a truck in a Christian parade.
There is no amount of money, no job, nothing that would get me to ride in one of those parades. Ew.
RI is a pit of democratic degeneracy.. Fire fighters were WRONG!...
The must do what those at the top(employers) tell them to do..
problem is those at the top.. are treasonous god-less and CORRUPT..
Odds are the fire fighters themselves are treasonous godless and corrupt..
much like the RI Police Departments..
After all it’s Rhode Island.. you know..
There’s a flaming homo joke in this somewhere.
Wouldn’t send one for EURO or whatever that David Duke organization is I’ll bet. Wouldn’t probably send one to a religious parade. I’ll bet there are parades they won’t send one to.
Mankind has the gift of reason — of a thinking brain - yet time and time again we ignore, abuse, and deny it a voice. Or we fry it with drugs. Or we philosophize it away as an illusion....
Is that Obola, pre-White House?
“Fairly anonymous?” I believe they were most worried about offending God.
Exactly.
When this country was founded people understood that the right of conscience was very important, and that a conscience informed by religion and morality was essential if we were to remain free. Now government forces people to violate their conscience to promote perversion.
How times have changed.
So these *IDIOT* Northeastern Judges would be okay with forcing them to drive in a Nazi or Klan rally too?
Defame the queers. Dress up in black-face and minstrel, I guarantee they won’t invite you back next year.
Cianci, who was forced to resign from office twice due to felony convictions
The black-robed thugs show their hatred of personal liberty.
How times have changed.
When this country was founded they hung sodomites.
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