LOS ANGELES, April 26 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union said a U.S. Marine's constitutional rights were violated when he was discharged for criticizing President Obama on Facebook. <\/p>\n
Sgt. Gary Stein, 26, on his Facebook page called Obama a coward and an enemy and promised never to salute him or follow any of his orders he considered illegal. The military's administrative separation board said Stein, a nine-year veteran who served in Iraq, made disparaging comments that were detrimental to good order and violated military law. <\/p>\n
The board demoted Stein to lance corporal and gave him an other-than-honorable discharge, making him ineligible for many federal benefits, the Los Angeles Times reported. <\/p>\n
Civilian lawyers said they will fight to have Stein reinstated to the military, the newspaper said. <\/p>\n
\"I don't believe Sgt. Stein did anything other than engage in political speech,\" said the ACLU's David Loy. \"Since the days of Valley Forge, I seriously doubt that there haven't been members of the armed forces who haven't complained about their government.\" <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Follow this link: LOS ANGELES, April 26 (UPI) -- The American Civil Liberties Union said a U.S. Marine's constitutional rights were violated when he was discharged for criticizing President Obama on Facebook. Sgt. Continue reading
\nACLU: Marine's free speech rights violated<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"