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Arapahoe worker hits trouble with 'English' sign
By CBS 4 News Reporter Brian Maass, Special to the News
March 3, 2006

Mike Gray drives a truck to his job at Arapahoe County's Road and Bridge Department with a sign that reads, "Lawn Services Done With Pride!! By An English Speaking American."

And he sometimes wears a cap that says "U.S. Border Patrol."

It's enough to get Gray, 50, in hot water with his bosses.

Arapahoe County has ordered him to stop wearing the cap and to cover up the sign when he's at work - or else lose his job of 16 years.

"Some of your conduct . . . is reprehensible and discriminatory to our non-English speaking and/or Hispanic work force," his supervisor, Monty Sedlak, wrote in a Nov. 10, 2005, disciplinary letter.

Andrea Rasizer, spokesperson for Arapahoe County, declined to answer questions, saying the matter was a personnel issue.

Gray's problems began last spring. The heavy equipment operator owns a lawn business on the side. He routinely drove to work in his pickup towing a trailer he uses to carry lawn-mowing equipment.

On the side of his trailer, Gray attached a sign that reads, "Lawn Services Done With Pride!! By An English Speaking American."

The sign gives Gray's phone number and the lettering is over a background of a U.S. flag.

"There's a lot of people in lawn service that are non-English speaking," Gray said. "Customers and different people were telling me that they have a hard time trying to communicate with them about the work they want done on their yards.

"I just want to let people know they at least can communicate with me when I do work on their property."

Gray said the "U.S. Border Patrol" cap was a gift from his son.

He believes his First Amendment rights are at stake.

"I got a new supervisor. He's a politically correct, bleeding-heart liberal," Gray said. "I believe in what I'm doing. I got to stand up for what I believe in and I don't think I'm doing a thing wrong.

"Of course I don't want to lose my job, but I can't back down from something I believe in. Like I say, they're just chipping away at our rights and freedoms."

In response to the county's letter, Gray stopped wearing his Border Patrol cap to work and partly covers his business sign at work so that the U.S. flag and the words "English Speaking American" are the only things visible.

The county says that's not enough, but it's as far as Gray is willing to go.

"Why would any American do such a thing as cover up the American flag and something that says you're an American? It's beyond me that anyone could expect me to do that," he said.

Gray has hired attorney David Lane, who plans to file an injunction to allow Gray to resume wearing his hat on the job and fully display his sign.

"What is of concern to me is whether the government of Arapahoe County is violating his constitutional rights under the First Amendment," Lane said.

"When the government tries to put a gag in people's mouths because they don't like the message that's being delivered, I'd do everything in my power to stop that from happening."

Contact Brian Maass at bmaass@cbs.com.