Did you know all California state employees are required to sign a loyalty oath?

This outdated loyalty oath dates back to 1952 which was added at the height of anti-Communist hysteria. It requires that all California state employees sign it before they can be hired. Not signing it means you will not be hired. What does a loyalty oath promising to uphold and defend the Constitution have to do with working for the state in a non-military capacity?

Here is the text of the loyalty oath:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend
the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of
the State of California against all enemies, foreign and
domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the
Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the
State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without
any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will
well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about
to enter.

Visit this web site to see what happened to a teacher who was fired for refusing
to sign it.

Visit this web site to see what a UC Berkeley graduate student did to bring this
issue to light and to encourage resistance to signing it.