I'm Confused

There may be a few out there who wonder who this guy is. He is Phil Robertson the father of the A&E "reality" program Duck Dynasty. He was interviewed by GQ magazine and made some rather unflattering comments about homosexuals. What he said doesn't so much concern me. It has been the reaction to what he said. First, A&E suspended him indefinitely from appearing on the Duck Dynasty program. Phil and his family are very religious Christians and his comments on homosexuals were in keeping with his religious beliefs. It does not make them any less insensitive it just provides some background for the furor his comments have created. There are many on Facebook and other social media sites complaining about Phil Robertson's free speech rights being violated. Our free speech rights, those for every America, are derived from the first ammendment to the Constitution. It states as follows:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

It appears from everything I read today that no law has been made stating that Phil Robertson or any other American cannot make the statements regarding homosexuals that he made. This is not a free speech issue. It is an employment issue. A&E networks employed Phil Robertson. They paid him for his appearances on a television program the network broadcast. I worked for over 20 years for the Illinois Department of Corrections. They did not abridge my free speech rights but I also understood that my ongoing employment could be adversely impacted by things that I said. I was certainly free at any point to make disparging remarks about my supervisor, the governor, the director. Indicate that I thought they enjoyed copulating with farm animals or whatever. I chose not to make those comments in exchange for my continued employment. Phil Robertson is still an employee of A&E. He has been suspended while they determine what to do. He said some things his employer didn't like. They have a right to determine if his employment with them will continue. His free speech rights have not been abridged in any manner. He can go out today and repeat his statements in any manner that does not violate the law. Yes, there are laws that limit your speech. What? Go to a church on Sunday and start hollering in the middle of the sermon any kind of crazy statement you want. See how long it is before you are removed by the police for disturbing the peace or trespassing or some other charge. Try to argue that the police are violating your free speech rights. Using the most famous example, you can't go into a crowded theater and yell fire. Free speech has limits. At its core this is still not about free speech. It is about what sort of conduct an employer is going to allow from an employee. If what A&E did in response to what Phil Robertson said then use your free speech rights to complain (again within the boundaries of the law). You can't say things like you want to burn down their studios or kill the director of the program. Don't watch any of their shows. Just don't say they are violating his free speech rights. They aren't.