On Wednesday a Federal court issued an injunction preventing Pete Hegseth from sanctioning Senator Kelly when it comes to his first amendment rights.
United States Senator Mark Kelly, a retired naval officer, has been censured by
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for voicing certain opinions on military actions and
policy. In addition, he has been subjected to proceedings to possibly reduce his retirement
rank and pay and threatened with criminal prosecution if he continues to speak out on these
issues. Secretary Hegseth relies on the well-established doctrine that military
service members enjoy less vigorous First Amendment protections given the fundamental
obligation for obedience and discipline in the armed forces. Unfortunately for Secretary
Hegseth, no court has ever extended those principles to retired service members, much less
a retired servicemember serving in Congress and exercising oversight responsibility over
the military. This Court will not be the first to do so!
This Court has all it needs
to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms
and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees. After all, as Bob
Dylan famously said, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."1
To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from their Government, and our
Constitution demands they receive it!
[snip]
CONCLUSION
Rather than trying to shrink the First Amendment liberties of retired
servicemembers, Secretary Hegseth and his fellow Defendants might reflect and be grateful
for the wisdom and expertise that retired servicemembers have brought to public
discussions and debate on military matters in our Nation over the past 250 years. If so,
they will more fully appreciate why the Founding Fathers made free speech the first
Amendment in the Bill of Rights! Hopefully this injunction will in some small way help
bring about a course correction in the Defense Department's approach to these issues.
United States Senator Mark Kelly, a retired naval officer, has been censured by
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for voicing certain opinions on military actions and
policy. In addition, he has been subjected to proceedings to possibly reduce his retirement
rank and pay and threatened with criminal prosecution if he continues to speak out on these
issues. Secretary Hegseth relies on the well-established doctrine that military
service members enjoy less vigorous First Amendment protections given the fundamental
obligation for obedience and discipline in the armed forces. Unfortunately for Secretary
Hegseth, no court has ever extended those principles to retired service members, much less
a retired servicemember serving in Congress and exercising oversight responsibility over
the military. This Court will not be the first to do so!
This Court has all it needs
to conclude that Defendants have trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms
and threatened the constitutional liberties of millions of military retirees. After all, as Bob
Dylan famously said, "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows."1
To say the least, our retired veterans deserve more respect from their Government, and our
Constitution demands they receive it!
[snip]
CONCLUSION
Rather than trying to shrink the First Amendment liberties of retired
servicemembers, Secretary Hegseth and his fellow Defendants might reflect and be grateful
for the wisdom and expertise that retired servicemembers have brought to public
discussions and debate on military matters in our Nation over the past 250 years. If so,
they will more fully appreciate why the Founding Fathers made free speech the first
Amendment in the Bill of Rights! Hopefully this injunction will in some small way help
bring about a course correction in the Defense Department's approach to these issues.
