They claimed they were the objects of sexual harassment before, during and after their appearance in a gay Pride parade. But Providence, Rhode Island firefighters Theodore Fabrizio and Stephen Deninno have lost their lawsuit against the city in a case that pitted ‘religious exemptions’ over what a unanimous high court ruled was “a legitimate work assignment.”
The case, unanimously rejected by all five members of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, pits a growing legal movement which cites deeply held religious beliefs as a bulwark against engaging with certain members or legally established laws in society, writes Michelle R. Smith for San Diego’s Union-Tribune.
“Justice William Robinson, writing for all five members of the high court this month, said the men appeared in the 2001 parade as public servants who were “relatively anonymous.” He called it a legitimate work assignment. The respondents’ appearance in the parade, solely as members of the Providence Fire Department, did not constitute a form of expression on their part. Rather, it was simply the accomplishing of a task assigned to an engine company of the Providence Fire Department,” Robinson wrote.
The lawsuit, which was brought against then-Mayor Buddy Cianci and then-fire chief James Rattigan in 2004, sought punitive and compensatory damages for alleged violations of freedom of speech and religion. The case was a precursor to some of the more recent cases where local businesses – photographers, cake makers and owners of lodges – are using their ‘deeply held religious convictions’ in order to discriminate mostly against members of the LGBT community.
The report goes on to note: “The court said the men were assigned to work the parade because they served in an engine company that was closest to the parade route. They asked to be reassigned but were refused, according to their lawyer. They said that during and after the parade, they experienced sexual harassment from parade-goers and their co-workers.
“A lawyer for the city told the court during arguments in September that the city sent trucks to various parades as a matter of course, including the Columbus Day parade, Purim parade and others.”
