Avoiding Viewpoint Discrimination or Opening A Can of Worms?
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the right of a student to wear an anti-gay t-shirt. Wonder how'd they react to an anti-straight t-shirt? Here's the story:
Court says Ill. student can wear anti-gay T-shirt at school
CHICAGO— A federal appeals court has ruled that a suburban Chicago student should be allowed to wear an anti-gay T-shirt at his high school — a decision the teen's attorneys describe as a victory for First Amendment rights.
In its ruling, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals instructed the district court to order the Neuqua Valley High School to suspend its ban on the ``Be Happy, Not Gay'' T-shirt while a civil rights lawsuit in the case proceeds.
Neuqua sophomore Alexander Nuxoll was banned from wearing the shirt to school, and he and one-time student Heidi Zamecnik, who wore a similar T-shirt to school in 2006, filed a lawsuit saying their civil rights had been violated.
Indian Prairie Unit District 204 later said the students would be allowed to wear a T-shirt that read ``Be Happy, Be Straight,'' but the students refused. Last year, a judge ruled against them.
The Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian litigation group representing the students, hailed Wednesday's ruling.
``The court's ruling is a victory for all students seeking to protect their First Amendment rights on a school campus.'' ADF attorney Nate Kellum said on Thursday. ``Public school officials cannot censor a message expressing one viewpoint on homosexual behavior and then at the same time allow messages that express another viewpoint.''
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