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On conscience, Quakers, and swearing oaths
Nov. 8th, 2011 11:01 amFrom Quaker oaths:
In 2007, Marianne Kearney-Brown, a Quaker math teacher, got fired from her job at a university in California because every time she was asked to sign an oath of allegiance, she would cross out “swear” and put in “affirm.” She would also insert “nonviolently” before a clause “to support and defend the US and California constitutions against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” She was fired for insisting on the insertions. She brought the case to court and eventually a compromise was made, with the university issuing an apology and declaring, in writing, that “Signing the oath does not carry with it any obligation or requirement that public employees bear arms or otherwise engage in violence.” Kearney-Brown was rehired.
In 2007, Marianne Kearney-Brown, a Quaker math teacher, got fired from her job at a university in California because every time she was asked to sign an oath of allegiance, she would cross out “swear” and put in “affirm.” She would also insert “nonviolently” before a clause “to support and defend the US and California constitutions against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” She was fired for insisting on the insertions. She brought the case to court and eventually a compromise was made, with the university issuing an apology and declaring, in writing, that “Signing the oath does not carry with it any obligation or requirement that public employees bear arms or otherwise engage in violence.” Kearney-Brown was rehired.
