A bill before the Alabama Legislature would make it easier for people to store hidden weapons in their vehicle. The bill would, among other things, “prohibit a public or private employer, property owner, or business from establishing a policy against transporting or possessing a firearm or ammunition if the person is in compliance with other laws.”
As The Tuscaloosa News reports, the head of the Business Council of Alabama says the bill is a “trampling of the constitutional rights of the business community.” A National Rifle Association lobbyist says laws that prohibit “lawful possession of a firearm” in a parking lot are unconstitutional.
Laws already allow governments and private organizations to restrict First Amendment rights in public and private places, under “time, place, and manner” rules.
Laws also make it clear that a person gives up First Amendment rights when going to work for an employer. That includes employers whose livelihood depends upon the First Amendment, such as news organizations, ad/persuasion companies, and entertainment companies. (The world is filled with plenty of examples of journalists, PR and ad people, and entertainment folks being told not to talk to outside reporters, and occasionally being fired when they do.)
Some questions:
1. Is comparing the Alabama bill with First Amendment time, place, and manner restrictions a fair comparison? Why or why not?
2. What changes might occur if First Amendment rights had a lobby as powerful as Second Amendment proponents?
3. When it comes to giving up First Amendment rights when working for a media company, what do you think the legal standards should be? And what should the ethical standards be? Should media companies feel a bigger obligation to give First Amendment rights to their employees in the workplace? Why or why not?