I will keep bumping this thread untill Chris Christie stops depriving Derek Fenton of his First Amendment rights. Where is the Tea Party? We all know that if a DEMOCRAT did the exact same thing, they would be out there protesting every day. Why have the not set up a legal defense fund? The Record: Condemn, don't fire ahead with plans to burn Qurans on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001,... [more]
I will keep bumping this thread untill Chris Christie stops depriving Derek Fenton of his First Amendment rights.
Where is the Tea Party? We all know that if a DEMOCRAT did the exact same thing, they would be out there protesting every day. Why have the not set up a legal defense fund?
The Record: Condemn, don't fire
ahead with plans to burn Qurans on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Jones got the message; Derek Fenton of Bloomingdale, a NJ Transit worker, did not.
Burning any religion’s holy books is an abhorrent act. While we strongly condemned Jones’ planned actions in Florida, we also noted that the First Amendment protected the right to say and do many things many Americans dislike and loathe. Burning the American flag is constitutionally protected. Building a mosque and cultural center two blocks north of Ground Zero is constitutionally protected. And whether we approve – and we most certainly do not – burning pages of the Quran outside the site of that proposed mosque also is protected speech.
Fenton burned pages from the Quran on Saturday. He was led away by police and questioned. He later was released and not charged. He subsequently was fired by NJ Transit. An agency statement said: "Mr. Fenton’s public actions violated New Jersey Transit’s code of ethics."
We made several attempts to reach NJ Transit to hear a detailed explanation of what that code was and how it applied to an employee who is not in a leadership position and does not make policy. E-mails and phone calls were not returned.
We do not see how an NJ Transit employee whose job is reportedly to ensure that sufficient train cars are available to be put into service is in a policy position. Whatever he does on his own time, assuming he does not break any laws and is not identifying himself as an NJ Transit employee, is his own business.
NJ Transit has every right to be unhappy that one of its employees decided to burn pages from the Quran. It should have issued a strong statement saying just that and emphasizing that the opinions of its employees are not the opinions of the agency.
Fenton’s actions are deplorable. They should be condemned. But Fenton is not in a policy position; he is not a public face of the agency either. Unless he was wearing NJ Transit apparel or clearly indicating that he was an NJ Transit employee while burning pages from the Quran, we see his firing as a disturbing knee-jerk response.
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Fired For Setting Fire to a Koran - Even ACLU Supports the Protester!
The rights of all Americans are in jeopardy!
So says the American Civil Liberties Union which has come to the defense of a New Jersey state worker who was fired for putting a match to pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero in midtown Manhattan.
Derek Fenton’s 11 year career came to a screeching stop when photographs of him burning pages from the Muslim holy book appeared in newspapers and on the internet.
Mr. Fenton, a resident of Bloomingdale, New Jersey, was fired even though he performed his act of protest in commemoration of 9/11 while off-duty and miles from his place of employment.
"Mr. Fenton's public actions violated New Jersey Transit's code of ethics," an agency statement said.
"NJ Transit concluded that Mr. Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and therefore [he] was dismissed."
But Mr. Fenton’s off-duty firing is being condemned an affront to the freedom of all Americans.
HOME > PUBLICATIONS > Fired For Setting Fire to a Koran - Even ACLU Supports the Protester!
Fired For Setting Fire to a Koran - Even ACLU Supports the Protester!
September 16, 2010 - Paul Williams, PhD
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The rights of all Americans are in jeopardy!
So says the American Civil Liberties Union which has come to the defense of a New Jersey state worker who was fired for putting a match to pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero in midtown Manhattan.
Derek Fenton’s 11 year career came to a screeching stop when photographs of him burning pages from the Muslim holy book appeared in newspapers and on the internet.
Mr. Fenton, a resident of Bloomingdale, New Jersey, was fired even though he performed his act of protest in commemoration of 9/11 while off-duty and miles from his place of employment.
"Mr. Fenton's public actions violated New Jersey Transit's code of ethics," an agency statement said.
"NJ Transit concluded that Mr. Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and therefore [he] was dismissed."
But Mr. Fenton’s off-duty firing is being condemned an affront to the freedom of all Americans.
Attorney Chris Dunn of the New York Civil Liberties Union said that Mr. Fenton’s First Amendment rights have been violated, noting that the Supreme Court “has recognized a constitutional right to burn the flag. Burning the Koran would be protected as well.”
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http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/103115299_Condemn__don_t_fire.html
Fired For Setting Fire to a Koran - Even ACLU Supports the Protester!
The rights of all Americans are in jeopardy!
So says the American Civil Liberties Union which has come to the defense of a New Jersey state worker who was fired for putting a match to pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero in midtown Manhattan.
Derek Fenton’s 11 year career came to a screeching stop when photographs of him burning pages from the Muslim holy book appeared in newspapers and on the internet.
Mr. Fenton, a resident of Bloomingdale, New Jersey, was fired even though he performed his act of protest in commemoration of 9/11 while off-duty and miles from his place of employment.
"Mr. Fenton's public actions violated New Jersey Transit's code of ethics," an agency statement said.
"NJ Transit concluded that Mr. Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and therefore [he] was dismissed."
But Mr. Fenton’s off-duty firing is being condemned an affront to the freedom of all Americans.
HOME > PUBLICATIONS > Fired For Setting Fire to a Koran - Even ACLU Supports the Protester!
Fired For Setting Fire to a Koran - Even ACLU Supports the Protester!
September 16, 2010 - Paul Williams, PhD
Print This E-mail This ShareThis
Comments (2)
The rights of all Americans are in jeopardy!
So says the American Civil Liberties Union which has come to the defense of a New Jersey state worker who was fired for putting a match to pages from the Koran outside a planned mosque near Ground Zero in midtown Manhattan.
Derek Fenton’s 11 year career came to a screeching stop when photographs of him burning pages from the Muslim holy book appeared in newspapers and on the internet.
Mr. Fenton, a resident of Bloomingdale, New Jersey, was fired even though he performed his act of protest in commemoration of 9/11 while off-duty and miles from his place of employment.
"Mr. Fenton's public actions violated New Jersey Transit's code of ethics," an agency statement said.
"NJ Transit concluded that Mr. Fenton violated his trust as a state employee and therefore [he] was dismissed."
But Mr. Fenton’s off-duty firing is being condemned an affront to the freedom of all Americans.
Attorney Chris Dunn of the New York Civil Liberties Union said that Mr. Fenton’s First Amendment rights have been violated, noting that the Supreme Court “has recognized a constitutional right to burn the flag. Burning the Koran would be protected as well.”
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.7379/pub_detail.asp