Office Depot reverses ban on Christian copying
'We have determined that the content is not a clear violation of the company’s policy'
Published: 10 hours ago
Office Depot has reversed its ban on one of its stores making copies of a pro-life flyer for an Illinois woman who had complained she was turned away because of the Christian element, the company told WND in an email on Friday.
In a statement emailed from Karen Denning, a spokeswoman for Office Depot’s headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida, she said the company “has contacted Ms. Goldstein’s representative to explain that the store associate’s decision to decline a print order was in no way based on religious beliefs, but on the fact that it contained certain words and phrases that could be construed as graphic or advocates the persecution of groups of people, which is a violation of the company’s copy and print policy.”
She said, “Office Depot has long maintained a policy of not allowing associates to print items that violate copyright laws, advocate persecution of any group or contain graphic material.”
However, she said, “Upon a more detailed review, we have determined that the content of Ms. Goldstein’s flyer is not a clear violation of the company’s policy.”
The statement included an invitation from company CEO Roland Smith to Maria Goldstein to return to have her work completed.
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“We sincerely apologize to Ms. Goldstein for her experience and our initial reaction was not at all related to her religious beliefs. We invite her to return to Office Depot if she still wishes to print the flyer,” Smith’s statement said.
The company said it will continue its policies “that guide the refusal to reproduce material that is protected under copyright, contains graphic material or advocates the persecution of any groups of people, regardless of the reason.”
WND had reported just a day earlier that the Illinois woman, Maria Goldstein, was being represented by the Thomas More Society, which sent a letter to Office Depot on her behalf.
“We suggest that you consider what your position would be if our client were black and your employees refused service because of her race,” the letter to Smith had said.
“In that case it would not be hard to see how unreasonable that refusal of service would be. The public accommodation laws do not give any greater leeway for refusal of service when a customer’s religious expression motivates the refusal. … Our laws welcome religion and religious expression, treat it fairly and equally, and do not permit its marginalization or silencing,” the letter had said.
Thomas More said the dispute arose when Goldstein placed an order last month for a print job at the Office Depot in Schaumburg, Illinois.
It included details of videos revealing Planned Parenthood’s baby body-parts trade.
She was told, however, by an Office Depot employee that the printing of her flyer was “restricted by corporate policy” and that her order would not be filled.
When she contacted the office of the chairman multiple times to discuss the company’s refusal to fill her order, staffer Diane Demma defended the refusal and offered no alternatives, the letter said.
“Office Depot is discriminating against me based on my religion,” Goldstein said in a statement released by her lawyers. “If the store can pick and choose what orders it fills based on religious content, it is refusing to treat people of faith equally. In America where we value freedom of religion, this is simply unacceptable.”
A short time before contacting WND, Office Depot had sent a letter to the Thomas More Society that appeared to affirm its rejection of the copying job.
The letter from House Counsel Robert Amicone said the “quoted language falls within the definition of ‘graphic material’ and/or ‘hate material,’ making the refusal to print the flyer appropriate.”
“Thus,” he argued. “Office Depot’s actions violated no laws.”
Asked to clarify the two responses, Denning confirmed the company’s apology superseded the lawyer’s defense of the censorship.
Thomas More Society lawyer Tom Olp said, “We are grateful that Office Depot has apologized for discriminating against Maria Goldstein based on the content of her flyers. This situation is a reminder that religious liberty is increasingly under attack today, but it is a fundamental American right that every one of us should value and defend.”
Goldstein said, “Thanks to the help of the Thomas More Society, I was able to stand up for my rights as a Christian, and I hope other people are empowered to stand up for their religious freedom, as well. I am grateful that God has used this situation to unite countless people in prayer for the conversion of Planned Parenthood.”
WND reported that the flyer she had prepared noted that during fiscal year 2013-2014 “Planned Parenthood received more than $1,400,000 per day in the form of government grants, contracts and Medicaid reimbursements.”
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It also said Planned Parenthood committed 327,653 abortions in 2013 and there “are 9,170 federally qualified health centers who provide health services (but NOT abortions) to low-income populations, compared to about 700 Planned Parenthood clinics.”
The flyer refers to the series of undercover videos revealing Planned Parenthood executives and others negotiating over the prices for the body parts of aborted babies. There are companies that salvage the body parts and resell them for research.
One of the videos revealed a California Planned Parenthood executive negotiating over the prices, fretting about being “low-balled” and then stating, “I want a Lamborghini.”
Besides the statistics about Planned Parenthood and a link to the website with the videos, the flyer featured a “Prayer for the Conversion of Planned Parenthood.”
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“Lord for whom all things are possible, We are confronted once again today with the evil of the abortion industry and the corruption found in the world’s largest abortion business, Planned Parenthood,” it started.
“We stand against the evil that has been exposed in Planned Parenthood and in the entire abortion industry,” it includes. “We stand today for the triumph of truth over falsehood, of light over darkness, and of life over death.”
The prayer quoted was from Fr. Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, a national Catholic pro-life organization, seeking divine assistance to end abortion and the “pernicious practices of Planned Parenthood.”
Read more at
http://www.wnd.com/2015/09/office-depot-reverses-ban-on-christian-copying/#voib5wZ62zTVsZz9.99
