USPS faces lawsuit for blocking private vendors from making stamps with religious content
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The law firm First Liberty is suing the United States Postal Service (USPS), alleging that a rule prohibiting Americans from requesting custom stamps with religious content is unconstitutional.
“This regulation by the USPS not only chills speech, it silences it,» Jeremy Dys, a special counsel for litigation and communications at First Liberty Institute, said in a news release. Announced Thursday, the firm filed the suit on behalf of a Texas-based graphic designer who sought to request a variety of religious-themed stamps from a third-party vendor.
USPS has allowed private citizens to ask vendors contracting with the post office to provide custom-designed stamps — but not if they contain religious or inappropriate content.
“USPS offers its own version of a religious stamp, but, ironically, it will not allow religious Americans to personalize stamps containing an expression of their own religious beliefs for their own use,” Dys said. The USPS has been offering stamps of the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus.
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The plaintiff, Susan Fletcher, had created religious-themed stamps for Christmas and a variety of other holidays. Court documents pointed to one design in particular — a nativity scene with a purple background. It read, “Emmanuel God With Us.”
“Ms. Fletcher also wishes to declare her sincerely held religious beliefs in connection with other holidays and celebratory occasions throughout the year,” Fletcher’s application for a preliminary injunction read. “She has created customized postage stamp designs for various federal and Texas holidays, as well as the various missions activities she engages in throughout the year, with religious messages that she believes are essential to celebrating the occasions with her loved ones.”
The USPS declined to comment, citing its policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
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“Personalized postage stamps do not violate the First Amendment just because they reference religion,” Chad Walker, a partner with Winston & Strawn and a First Liberty network attorney, said in a statement provided to Fox News. “Government regulations prohibiting religious speech by Americans offend the First Amendment.”
Fletcher was seeking a preliminary injunction in the eastern district of Texas. According to the injunction request, she’s claiming “free exercise violations under the United States Constitution, and violations of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”
