Action Index →
Sign the Petition: Take a Stand Against Forced Loyalty Oaths
Launched: August 14, 2008
This Action Expired: August 30, 2008
Description:
Letter from Wendy Gonaver, the Cal State Fullerton faculty member who was fired from her job because of her refusal to sign the California state employee "loyalty oath." Gonaver is a Quaker and a Pacifist. Her letter asks the governor to sign SB 1322, which would amend the existing law requiring loyalty oaths.
Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,
When you became an American citizen, and then again when you became Governor of California, you swore to uphold the United States Constitution. I am sure that you did this with pride and conviction.
I, too, proudly support the U.S. Constitution, and that is why I ask that you sign Senate Bill 1322 into law.
In August of 2007 I attended a new faculty orientation at California State Fullerton, having been hired the previous spring to teach two courses. It was at the orientation that I learned for the first time that I would be required to sign a loyalty oath. I was surprised and confused. I thought then that loyalty oaths were a thing of the past, as obsolete as vacuum tube televisions. I also felt confident that, as a practicing Friend or Quaker, I would not be required to pledge to "defend" the U.S. and California constitutions against "all enemies, foreign and domestic." So I was shocked and dismayed when, having asked about exceptions for religious minorities, I was told there were none.
I went home that evening upset and conflicted, but determined to find a compromise. My chief concern was that I satisfy my conscience with regard to the phrase "defend against enemies." As you probably know, Quakers are pacifists. I also wished to register my belief that the wording of the oath made it impossible to uphold the oath yet still have objections to the compulsory nature of it without committing perjury.
After much reflection, I decided to affirm the oath and ask to attach a brief statement clarifying my views. My request was refused and I was fired the day before I was to begin teaching.
It was and remains my belief that the California State loyalty oath is an unfortunate relic of the McCarthy era, and that it serves no purpose other than to prevent religious minorities from working state jobs. Furthermore, willingness to take the oath is not an accurate gauge of patriotism but of conformity.
Governor Schwarzenegger, in 1938, after the Nazi invasion of Austria, the Third Reich decreed that all pastors take on oath of allegiance to Adolph Hitler. Although some resisted, eventually the clergy who remained in the country took the oath to the detriment of their faith and, ironically and disastrously, to the detriment of their nation. While this is an extreme example, it illustrates an important point. Namely, a healthy government does not require its people to put expressions of patriotism above faith, nor does it stifle dissent.
It is a measure of the health of our government that I was ultimately reinstated. But I had to wait nine months, go public with my story and threaten a lawsuit. I was fortunate to obtain pro bono legal representation from People for the American Way. Others have been less fortunate. Although I feel personally vindicated, I would feel better knowing that no one else will have to face the choice that confronted me. It is time to mend this anachronistic law and make California's constitution consistent with the Constitution of the United States.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely yours,
Wendy Gonaver
