Free Opinions at Firehouses - NYTimes.com Some firefighters in the New York City Fire Department are actively opposing a federal judge's order to reform the department's long history of bad employment practices. They have started a misguided campaign called Merit Matters to stop the judge and the city from creating new exams for potential applicants and have distributed materials to various stationhouses. Last month, the Fire Department, in what seems like a misguided response, tried to ban "material presenting opinions or viewpoints" anywhere in the city's firehouses. That broad language raised serious free speech issues. Stephen Cassidy, the president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, told his 8,000 members to ignore the order, which prompted department officials to rework their directive last week. It now allows only "official department business or important information relating to approved departmental organizations" to be posted in firehouses. Since Merit Matters is not an approved department organization, its bulletins would not be allowed. This revised order seems overly broad as well. Ronald Kuby, a civil liberties attorney working with Mr. Cassidy, quickly challenged the new language as potentially prohibiting the display of any material that expresses any opinion. "When it comes to free speech, you need to regulate with a scalpel," Mr. Kuby said on Monday. Instead, they are using a sledgehammer. The Fire Department is right to be concerned and should not tolerate racially charged material that creates a hostile work environment, which might violate equal employment opportunity laws. We strongly disagree with the city, firefighters and others who are contesting the wise ruling by Judge Nicholas Garaufis of Federal District Court. But the fire commissioner, Salvatore Cassano, should tell his lawyers to sit down with the firefighters to craft a policy that respects free expression without violating employment laws.