Hired or not based on merits… or more likely, the lowest bid and nothing else. By automatically and systemically excluding anyone based on exercise of their free speech, the government is behaving in a punitive manner towards citizens based on speech, which is a violation of their First Amendment rights.
This is very simple. If you still don’t get it, think of it this way… citizens may discriminate against one another based on actions, behaviors, or words… that is freedom of association… but the government may never, ever do this. If government agents just happened to never use boycotters, that could be hand-waved (unless they slipped up and admitted they do it)… but by enshrining it in law, they violate the First Amendment rights of any person or business that is (or could be) exempted/penalized in such a way.
Hired or not based on merits… or more likely, the lowest bid and nothing else. By automatically and systemically excluding anyone based on exercise of their free speech, the government is behaving in a punitive manner towards citizens based on speech, which is a violation of their First Amendment rights.
This is very simple. If you still don’t get it, think of it this way… citizens may discriminate against one another based on actions, behaviors, or words… that is freedom of association… but the government may never, ever do this. If government agents just happened to never use boycotters, that could be hand-waved (unless they slipped up and admitted they do it)… but by enshrining it in law, they violate the First Amendment rights of any person or business that is (or could be) exempted/penalized in such a way.