Let's Sue The Federal Government... Again.
Pronouns aren't someone's God-given right.
As many Feds for Freedom (F4F) members are aware, we are in the process of organizing a nationwide lawsuit against the Federal Government’s use of mandated pronouns in the work place. F4F started organizing this lawsuit in the fall of 2023, identified over 80 plaintiffs willing to risk their careers, secured a 100 thousand dollar grant from the Heritage Foundation to support our efforts, and happily received pro bono legal support from the Alliance Defending Freedom Legal (ADFL).
So, what is the hold-up?
We need the plaintiffs that can show legally defined harms.
The agencies and departments are putting out policies using an indecipherable word salad consisting of mushy guidance designed to avoid legal action… It is almost like they know the premise of mandated pronouns is a fantastical journey into Absurdistan.
Are you really being harmed by mandated pronouns?
We have 14 agencies and departments represented in our plaintiff pool, and they are residents of just about every circuit court in the country. F4F plans to file the complaint as an organization, but we must have F4F members willing to detail their individual claims in court. The key to filing the lawsuit is standing, and to have standing, we must show that our members have been harmed.
As was the case with many early COVID-19 lawsuits, they were quickly thrown out of court for lack of standing. As ridiculous as it sounds, the threat of employment loss, discriminatory practices in the work place, and societal ostracization wasn’t enough to demonstrate harm. Since that time, there have been a number of key litigation wins that have reinforced the harms caused by mandates, particularly as it relates to religious beliefs.
For those of faith, the thought that gender could be a malleable substance, easily changed by feelings, unhinged pseudoscience, and peer pressure is a religious affront. Constitutionally, mandated pronouns are one of the most insidious violations of freedom of speech. It forces one to engage in self-censorship, and since pronouns are by definition third person, the threat of disciplinary action isn’t really a matter of the face to face interactions one might have with an individual suffering from gender dysphoria.
Discussions about someone in third person is only subject to disciplinary action when third parties overhear your conversation and decide to turn you in to the thought police. It is a gestapo tactic meant to pit colleague against colleague and it erodes workplace trust, efficiency, and harmony. So much for diversity and inclusion.
So… yes, it is harm.
But… If we want to ensure we have standing in court, we must be able to show that disciplinary action has been taken or is about to be taken against an employee. This is a little easier with public facing federal employees. Customs and Border Patrol, the Social Security Administration, and Department of State Consular officers are required to use preferred pronouns when they deal with the public… to name a few.
If you have been subject to or are in imminent danger of disciplinary action as a result of refusing to engage in forced speech or you simply disagree with the policies please email jim@fedsforfreedom.org. We need to hear your story.
If you are the protagonist of the story…
… We really need to define the antagonist. The villain’s motives and plans have been left purposely vague and our narrative’s antagonist needs some character development. The federal government has been rushing to establish new policy guidance related to mandated pronoun use, but have been deliberately vague in defining how the policy will be implemented, enforced, and what employee actions would result in disciplinary action. In some agencies, the policies don’t even define the type of disciplinary action an errant employee might encounter.
Many F4F members have sent us specific policy documentation; most of the agencies and departments make them a matter of public record. Even the typically secretive Intelligence Community (IC) provided a broad brush overview with ICD 125. This information is vitally important in developing our lawsuit.
If you can provide us with your employer’s specific policies related to pronouns and transgender issues, please send them to jim@fedsforfreedom.org.
Why is it needed?
Fire for effect!
Indirect fire in the military requires a weapon system like artillery or mortars… In our analogy this corresponds with our legal team.
Effective use of indirect fire also requires a fire support officer whose responsibility is to direct incoming rounds onto the desired target. In our analogy, you are the person behind enemy lines calling for these fire missions.
The best way to make sure your rounds are landing where you want them to land is to send the mortar team feedback every time a round goes down range and help them adjust fire. If the round lands short 100 meters, you update the mortar team and they fire again. Once the mortar team gets a direct hit, then you can call on the team to fire for effect… meaning they pull out and fire as many HE and white phosphorous rounds as they can and dish up a little shake and bake.
The federal government and its subordinate agencies have provided us with extraordinarily undefined policies.
Why?
If they define exactly what would precipitate disciplinary action, or specifically state where and how pronouns are to be used, they understand that it makes it much easier to take legal action. If they leave the guidance vague and largely up to the interpretation of mid career bureaucrats and line supervisors, this inconsistency makes it much harder to pin any wrong doing on the premise behind the policy.
We need you!
F4F has forwarded the policy guidance to ADF and they are generating a series of questions that will help bracket their indirect fire. We need you to ask your agency the questions posed by ADF and provide us with the responses. The goal is to pin them down on the specifics of their policies. Once that happens, we can go to court and fire for effect.
If you are willing to help us gather information on your agency’s pronoun policies, please email jim@fedsforfreedom.org.
We can’t make this lawsuit happen without your support. Despite identifying pro bono legal support, there are other expenses needed to help F4F execute this type of impactful litigation. So please donate to F4F and support this Substack.