William Helms: “I am also pleased to introduce the Freedom of Speech Act, which makes sure that federal employees are not forced to…”

“I am also pleased to introduce the Freedom of Speech Act, which makes sure that federal employees are not forced to check their moral beliefs at the door when they arrive at the federal workplace. This bill attempts to make sure that President Clinton is not allowed to do by Executive Order what Congress has declined to enact in the past two Congressional sessions--namely, to treat homosexuals as a special class protected under various titles of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Last year, President Clinton signed such an Executive Order, and in so doing, infringed upon the Constitutional rights of Federal employees who wish to express their moral and spiritual objections to the homosexual lifestyle. President Clinton has instructed Federal agencies and departments to implement a policy that treats homosexuals as a special class protected under various titles of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This necessarily prevents federal employees who have strong religious or moral objections to homosexuality from expressing those beliefs without running afoul of what amounts to a workplace speech code. Apparently, when the President's desire to write his belief system into federal workplace regulations conflicted with the First Amendment right to free speech, the Constitution lost.”