Fired over rebel flag plate, worker sues Tampa

The Civil War buff says he was booted from city parking, suspended, then discharged.

By MELANIE AVE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 16, 2003

TAMPA -- Larry Carpenter is a shy, soft-spoken man who would like nothing better than to one day play the part of a Confederate soldier in a Civil War re-enactment.

But for now, his battlefield is a federal courthouse and his enemy is the city of Tampa.

Carpenter, a 47-year-old Detroit native, sued the city last week, claiming his First Amendment rights were violated when he was fired for refusing to remove a license plate depicting the Confederate flag from the front of his 2001 Ford pickup.

He didn't use the truck in his $14-an-hour job as a traffic worker, but he did park it in a city lot.

"They don't pay for the truck," Carpenter said. "They don't pay for the insurance. They shouldn't be able to tell me what to put on it."

Carpenter wants to make one thing clear: He is not a racist. He got the plate because he is a Civil War buff.

"People need to understand that this isn't a fight about the Old South and slavery," said his attorney, J. Benton Stewart II.

"It's a fight for my rights," Carpenter insists.

His problems began in January 2002, when a supervisor told him to remove the plate or park off city property.

Carpenter refused, and the city suspended him without pay three times.

On Sept. 11, 2002, Carpenter came to work and was told he was fired for failing to obey orders to remove the plate.

According to the lawsuit, only one person complained about the plate in the six years Carpenter worked for the city. That person later rescinded the complaint, the lawsuit states.

There is no city policy dealing specifically with license plates or bumper stickers on personal vehicles.

City policy does, however, forbid employees from using slurs and other conduct directed at another person's race, color, national origin, sex, religion, handicap or age.

According to Carpenter's lawsuit, he was told by transportation manager Elton Smith that the license plate "created an antagonistic environment in the workplace."

Tom Gonzalez, labor and employment attorney for the city, said city officials acted properly in firing Carpenter.

"I don't think a public employee has any particular right in displaying that flag parked in a parking lot," Gonzalez said. "It's obvious that flag has resulted in a great deal of controversy. It's not a secret that it can cause a disruption in the workplace."

Carpenter said his fascination with the Civil War -- which he calls the War Between the States -- began when he moved from Michigan to Kentucky in the 1970s.

That's when he first put a battle flag on his truck.

Though he is still researching his heritage, he said he had ancestors who fought for the Confederacy. He is a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a nonprofit historical organization. He also is a member of the Civil War Preservation Trust.

For Carpenter and his fiancee, Jamie Ugolini, the Civil War is a hobby. They attend re-enactments, watch documentaries and participate in parades.

He has a hat and boots that the Southern soldiers wore and he hopes to someday buy a uniform and a black powder gun so he can participate in a large re-enactment.

"It's our heritage," said Carpenter, a grandfather of two who did not want his photograph taken, saying he feared harassment.

Although he understands the Confederate flag is a divisive symbol that represents the enslavement of black Americans for many people, Carpenter said he doesn't hold that view.

"It's about history," he said.

Carpenter said his firing has been a significant personal hardship.

He got a job with the city in 1996 so he could become vested within 10 years and earn retirement benefits.

After his firing, he fought for and won unemployment benefits when a state Unemployment Compensation Appeals referee found the city "violated (Carpenter's) First Amendment right to freedom of speech."

Carpenter now runs his own land-clearing business.

In his lawsuit, Carpenter is seeking to be rehired with back pay.

Stewart said the city should either allow employees to express their views or institute a policy that prohibits religious, political or personal symbols from all city property, including fish depictions for Christians and rainbows for homosexuals.

Carpenter said he's fighting so all city workers can express their beliefs unhindered in the future.

"If you believe in your rights . . . you should stick with your values," Carpenter said. "That's what I did."

-- Melanie Ave can be reached at (813) 226-3400 or melanie@sptimes.com .

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