First Amendment didn't protect homophobe at work

Hewlett-Packard had the right to fire an employee who posted anti- gay passages from the Bible at his work cubicle in protest of the computer industry giant's diversity policy and in an effort to persuade gays to repent, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

The court said Richard Peterson, who worked in HP's customer support division in Boise, Idaho, for more than two decades, was not a victim of religious discrimination. Instead, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, an employer has the right to enforce an even-handed policy against harassment and discrimination, even if certain messages are suppressed.