San Diego Firefighters Forced To Attend A "Gay Pride" Parade Sue For Sexual Harassment
In San Diego, firefighters were recently ordered into uniform to participate in their fire truck in the annual "Gay Pride" parade-even though they absolutely did not want to and made it known through their repeated protests against being required to attend the event.
Tracy Jarman, who is the fire chief in San Diego, is an open lesbian. She told her firefighters that the July 21 "Gay Pride" parade was a "fun event" and said that all employees were encouraged to participate.
So, rather than disobey a direct order from the fire chief, the firemen, who are devoted husbands and fathers and not gay, attended the event. In previous years the firefighters were not required to attend the "Gay Pride" parade.
Four of the firefighters have now filed a lawsuit against the City of San Diego because they say they were forced to attend the parade and at the event they were forced to endure vulgar innuendo, sexual gestures and lewd remarks directed at them for three hours.
Before the parade, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders introduced a resolution designating July as "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Month". The San Diego City Council unanimously adopted the resolution.
Legal counsel for the firefighters said the men were forced to choose between disobeying a direct order from their chief or violating their conscience.
One of the firefighters said that at the parade he could not even look into the crowd without being taunted and harassed with sexual gestures. Another said that if a crew member were to hang up pictures at the station of things they saw at the parade, they would be subject to discipline.
The men have reported specific things that were yelled to them at the parade that are the most lewd and graphic sexual remarks you can imagine. They endured all of the taunts, but when they didn't respond the crowd turned ugly and began shouting hostile and obscene remarks at them, complimented with the middle finger gesture.
An attorney from the firm representing the firemen in the lawsuit says that the city should have known that very graphic and offensive activities take place at the parade. He goes on to say that this is a clear case of sexual harassment in violation of both state and federal law, as well as San Diego's own code of conduct.
At the "Gay Pride" event, the firefighters were the target of explicit sexual gestures. Gay men in the crowd exposed their genitals to the men, blew kisses at them, tugged at their own crotches and rubbed their nipples. They made lewd tongue gestures and kissed each other passionately. Many of the gay men in attendance were also dressed as women.
The president and chief legal counsel of the firm representing the firefighters presents the argument that the constitutional right to free speech includes the right not to speak. He says that the firefighters should not have to explain to their families, friends and churches what they were doing at such a lewd and perverse event in support of homosexuality.
He goes on to say that the ordeal that the firefighters endured was "another example of how radical homosexual activists in positions of authority force their agenda on unwilling citizens".
