In an act that may further infuriate reactionaries across the country, the California Senate voted Thursday to remove membership in the Communist Party as a fireable offense for public employees. The measure now goes to the state Assembly. The Senate vote was held on the same day California’s Supreme Court decided to strike down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, a coincidence conservatives are not likely to miss.


The Guardian:

The California Senate yesterday passed legislation that would delete membership in the Communist party as a reason for firing a public employee, a Cold War-era prohibition intended to root out communists.

Democratic Senator Alan Lowenthal called communism a “failed system,” and said his bill – Senate Bill 1322 – was intended to protect “the constitutional freedoms that we have fought so valiantly for,” including freedom of political affiliation.

California is the only state that allows public employees to be dismissed for membership in a political party.

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