http://www.cipherwar.com/news/01/aol_anti-guns.htm
Update On Gun Lawsuit Against AOL ....01.01.01
Previously: AOL Fires Employees For Owning Guns ....10.31.00 (
http://www.cipherwar.com/news/00/aol_anti-guns.htm).
Ex-AOL employees' lawsuit could hinge on ownership of parking lot
Attorney for men fired over gun policy says AOL leases lot from Ogden
Wednesday, December 27, 2000
By CHERYL BUCHTA
Standard-Examiner staff
OGDEN -- Attorneys for three men fired by America Online for having guns in their vehicles parked at work are challenging AOL' s contention that the parking lot belongs to the company.
The three, Luke Hansen, Paul Carlson and Jason Melling sued AOL for wrongful termination after the company dismissed them in September for violation of
company policy which bans guns in the workplace. Two of the men were off- duty and the third was on a two- hour approved break when they met in the parking lot at 2261 Grant Ave. and transferred guns to Hansen' s car. The men planned to go target shooting in Eden later.
Tuesday, attorney James D. Vilos argued against AOL' s motion to dismiss the suit in 2nd District Court saying the company does not own but merely leases space from the city in the public parking lot.
Furthermore, Vilos states, AOL may have had only a right to park in a certain number of spaces but no right to park in a specific or identifiable area.
" We haven' t had a chance to do discovery," Vilos said. " That' s one of the reasons why the courts should let this go forward."
Nicholas Graham, the AOL Inc. spokesman in Dulles, Va. could not be reached for comment Tuesday afternoon. The company has the right to respond to the men' s motion before Judge Roger Dutson decides whether to dismiss the suit or let it go forward.
The case will likely become a historic fight over a company' s ability to restrict its employers' rights to bear arms.
" This particular issue has not been specifically decided in any state I' m aware of, including Utah," Vilos said.
Vilos is asking for a jury trial because he said Westerners understand the value of gun ownership.
" Westerners have a right to have their state legislature establish the public policy and not a 800-pound gorilla Internet provider trying to enforce East coast values on Westerners." he said.
The Salt Lake attorney is considered a gun rights expert and is the author of the book " Utah Gun Law: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."
Vilos' motion also maintains that Utah law protects employees from termination when it constitutes a violation of " clear and substantial public policy."
In this case, Vilos said Utah' s constitution show a clear public policy allowing Utah residents to possess, control and transport firearms without interference by government or private employers.
In earlier statements, Graham maintains that AOL' s no-gun policy in the workplace is part of the standard employment agreement signed by its 15,000 employees.
Vilos hinted that AOL' s no-gun employment policy is part of a company bias against gun ownership.
" This strong ' anti-gun' policy has drawn wide comment on the Internet. Internet articles and other communications indicate that AOL blocks, filters and censures communications relating to firearms and prohibits users from advertising the sale of guns or ammunition treating them as pornography," Vilos' motion reads.
The attorney maintains that AOL' s censorship is tantamount to a telephone company telling people they can' t use their telephones to voice opinions about individual freedoms.
Source:
http://www.standard.net/stories/loca...suit@ogden.asp
Thanks to kernel for the update.
AOL = Corporate Fascism
North American Hunter magazine and AOL
