82Marine89
04-16-2010, 03:42 PM
SAN DIEGO – A Camp Pendleton Marine has relaunched his Facebook page criticizing President Barack Obama's health care policy after prompting a controversy over free speech that won him the support of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Sgt. Gary Stein took down his "Armed Forces Tea Party" page on Tuesday after he was called back to base.
Stein, 24, of Temecula said his superiors asked him to review Defense Department policy on political activities after they learned he was scheduled to give an interview to MSNBC about his Facebook page.
Stein relaunched the page Wednesday. By Thursday, it had nearly 500 fans and had received a flurry of comments, most praising him.
Stein can continue to administer the Facebook page as long as he doesn't violate the Pentagon's directive on political activities, Master Gunnery Sgt. Rhys A. Evans, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said Thursday.
"We're not in any means trying to censor Sgt. Stein. Not at all," Evans said. "More than anything, we just want to make sure that he was informed so that he doesn't venture into further (actions) where he would violate any rules."
LINK (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100416/ap_on_hi_te/us_military_facebook_restrictions)
Sgt. Gary Stein took down his "Armed Forces Tea Party" page on Tuesday after he was called back to base.
Stein, 24, of Temecula said his superiors asked him to review Defense Department policy on political activities after they learned he was scheduled to give an interview to MSNBC about his Facebook page.
Stein relaunched the page Wednesday. By Thursday, it had nearly 500 fans and had received a flurry of comments, most praising him.
Stein can continue to administer the Facebook page as long as he doesn't violate the Pentagon's directive on political activities, Master Gunnery Sgt. Rhys A. Evans, a spokesman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, said Thursday.
"We're not in any means trying to censor Sgt. Stein. Not at all," Evans said. "More than anything, we just want to make sure that he was informed so that he doesn't venture into further (actions) where he would violate any rules."
LINK (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100416/ap_on_hi_te/us_military_facebook_restrictions)