When Speech Is a Fireable Offense.

• Author: Lueders, Bill
• Position: Elementary school counselor Marissa Darlingh

As the Supremes sort out whether Lorie Smith's First Amendment rights are being violated even though she has suffered no actual consequences, a little-noticed case in Wisconsin concerns the firing of a person over speech that is arguably not protected.

Marissa Darlingh was terminated from her job as an elementary school counselor after making what a Milwaukee Public Schools spokesperson characterized as a "vulgar, insensitive, and disrespectful tirade aimed directly at the students in her care."

Darlingh, who has filed a federal lawsuit over her dismissal, declared at an anti-trans rally at the state capitol in April 2022: "Not a single one of my students, under my fucking watch, will ever, ever transition socially and sure as hell not medically. Absolutely not." She added, "Fuck transgenderism. Fuck it." She also wrote "Protect kids from trans" in chalk on the front step of her house.

"As a private citizen, I have the right to express my views concerning gender ideology on my own time, and identifying myself as a school counselor doesn't negate that right," Darlingh said in a statement. "My speech had little to no impact on my students, their educational experience, or our therapeutic relationship."

American Civil Liberties Union National Legal Director David Cole begs to differ.

"Public employees can be terminated for speech off the job if it undermines their ability to perform their jobs," he tells The Progressive in an email exchange. Darlingh "identified herself as a school employee and stated that...