April 18 is recognized as a National Day of Silence, on which students can chose not to speak as protest against unfair treatment of homosexuals.
When one student chose to wear an anti-gay T-shirt in response to that protest, school administrators took action, and refused to let her wear it. Now she and another student suing the school, saying they violated her first amendment rights.
In the suit, filed by Hedi Zamecnik, 17, and another student, Alexander Nuxoll, 14, Zamecnik claims she faced unlawful discrimination and humiliation (one school administrator told her to remove the shirt, another told her to cross out the offending language with a marker) because school officials didn't agree with her viewpoint.
On the front, the shirt read: "MY DAY OF SILENCE, STRAIGHT ALLIANCE," and on the back it read: "BE HAPPY, NOT GAY."
The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian litigation group representing Zamecnik says that "This is a fundamental First Amendment Issue," and that similar lawsuits filed across the nation are attempts to "enable Christian students to express a contrasting viewpoint on homosexuality."
Seeing as the courts already allow schools to restrict free speech with it's prejudicial against other minority groups, I don't see why they'd rule any differently in this circumstance.
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AND ISN'T IT TIME ALREADY? Historic issues
In September 2004 Gay Times had a controversial advertising campaign on the London Underground with pictures of their September issue front cover, that proved popular with Gay Times readers. It was the first advertising campaign to feature a gay kiss, attracting only one complaint that was later thrown out by the Advertising Standards Agency.
From March 2007, Gay Times has re-labeled itself GT, announcing: "The Future's Here: Are You Up For It? New Look. New Attitude. New Sections. New Writers. New Style. Gay Times becomes GT"
When one student chose to wear an anti-gay T-shirt in response to that protest, school administrators took action, and refused to let her wear it. Now she and another student suing the school, saying they violated her first amendment rights.
In the suit, filed by Hedi Zamecnik, 17, and another student, Alexander Nuxoll, 14, Zamecnik claims she faced unlawful discrimination and humiliation (one school administrator told her to remove the shirt, another told her to cross out the offending language with a marker) because school officials didn't agree with her viewpoint.
On the front, the shirt read: "MY DAY OF SILENCE, STRAIGHT ALLIANCE," and on the back it read: "BE HAPPY, NOT GAY."
The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian litigation group representing Zamecnik says that "This is a fundamental First Amendment Issue," and that similar lawsuits filed across the nation are attempts to "enable Christian students to express a contrasting viewpoint on homosexuality."
Seeing as the courts already allow schools to restrict free speech with it's prejudicial against other minority groups, I don't see why they'd rule any differently in this circumstance.
**************************************************
AND ISN'T IT TIME ALREADY? Historic issues
In September 2004 Gay Times had a controversial advertising campaign on the London Underground with pictures of their September issue front cover, that proved popular with Gay Times readers. It was the first advertising campaign to feature a gay kiss, attracting only one complaint that was later thrown out by the Advertising Standards Agency.
From March 2007, Gay Times has re-labeled itself GT, announcing: "The Future's Here: Are You Up For It? New Look. New Attitude. New Sections. New Writers. New Style. Gay Times becomes GT"
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