7th CIr.: no 1A violation for school district to fire counselor who gave a profanity-laden speech at an anti-trans rally

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Reposted by Bad Popehat With Evil Intentions

Gabriel Malor
‪@gabrielmalor.bsky.social‬
7th CIr.: no First Amendment violation for school district to fire counselor who gave a profanity-laden speech at an anti-trans rally in which she vowed that no student would ever be allowed to transition "under her watch," which conflicted with school policy.

https://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/OpinionsWeb/processWebInputExternal.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2025/D07-02/C:23-1610:J:Sykes:aut:T:fnOp:N:3392287:S:0

We affirm. Though Darlingh spoke on an issue of public
concern in a traditional free-speech setting—a right she did
not surrender when she accepted public employment—the
school district reasonably concluded that her speech was
incompatible with her role as a school counselor. It’s not
hard to see why: she made a strident public pledge to perform her counseling duties in an exceedingly rigid way that
No. 23-1610 3
conflicted with the school district’s obligation to ensure a
supportive educational environment and promote student
and parental trust. That took Darlingh’s speech outside the
scope of the First Amendment’s protection as applied in the
public-employment context.
ALT
July 2, 2025 at 2:38 PM

7th CIr.: no First Amendment violation for school district to fire counselor who gave a profanity-laden speech at an anti-trans rally in which she vowed that no student would ever be allowed to transition "under her watch," which conflicted with school policy.

media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/Opin...

— Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor.bsky.social) 2025-07-02T18:38:53.305Z

[70sEraVet]

1. A little more background on this case:

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca7/23-1610/23-1610-2025-07-02.html