\u201cNo one should have to go to court to send a Christmas card,\u201d said Hiram Sasser, General Counsel for First Liberty Institute. \u201cUSPS policies are so ambiguous and unequally applied that even its approved vendors don\u2019t know what is allowed and what isn\u2019t. The USPS has made Zazzle and Stamps.com agents of discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n
In late November, Mrs. Hunt sought to purchase a personalized, custom stamp through Zazzle, which partners with Stamps.com to print custom postage, that included a photo of her family in front of St. Basil\u2019s Cathedral taken this year while in Moscow for the World Cup. After initially accepting her order, Zazzle informed Mrs. Hunt that her order was being cancelled because of its \u201creligious\u201d nature, specifically the presence of St. Basil\u2019s cathedral in the background. Zazzle then indicated that Mrs. Hunt\u2019s order would be approved if the photo were cropped to make the cathedral \u201cless obvious.\u201d Ultimately, Zazzle chose to indefinitely \u201cpause\u201d its production of custom postage for the entire nation rather than run afoul of the Postal Service\u2019s comprehensive ban on religious images.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/postalemployeenetwork.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Hunt-Family-Photo.jpg\")
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In response to the rejection of her stamp, Mrs. Hunt said, \u201cAll I wanted was to add something personal to my family\u2019s Christmas cards. I was shocked that a family photo that includes a historic cathedral in the background is considered too religious by the Post Office.\u201d<\/p>\n
First Liberty explained that the USPS regulation is overly broad and as applied may violate the First Amendment\u2019s free exercise clause. Both Stamps.com and Zazzle.com commented against the breadth of the religious restriction when it was published in the Federal Register, but the offending provision was not changed. Without clarification, legal action is possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican taxpayers who fund the Postal Service deserve to know whether they can order a customized stamp or not,\u201d added Sasser.<\/p>\n