A federal district court ruled yesterday that city of Atlanta rules which led to the termination of Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran are unconstitutional. The court found that the city’s policies restricting non-work speech, like a book for Christian men that Cochran wrote, are too broad and allow city officials to unconstitutionally discriminate against views with which they disagree.
Cochran was fired by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed who accused the chief of forcing his beliefs that were in the book on other employees.
The government can’t force its employees to get its permission before engaging in free speech,” said Alliance for Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot, who argued before the court on behalf of Cochran last month.
An ADF media release further said: “In addition, as the court found, the city can’t leave such decisions to the whims of government officials. This ruling benefits not only Chief Cochran, but also other employees who want to write books or speak about matters unrelated to work. Atlanta can no longer force them to get permission or deny them permission just because certain officials disagree with the views expressed.” Full news release, quotes, and related media resources available at the following link: http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/9520
