Anti-Gay T-Shirt Suit Goes To Trial
by 365Gay.com from the Web, November 7, 2004
Poway, CA –- A lawsuit brought by a California high school student who was suspended for wearing a T-shirt with a homophobic slogan will be allowed to go to trial and judge has ruled.
Tyler Chase Harper, 16, filed the suit against the Poway School District in June, accusing it of violating his civil rights.
Harper wore the T-shirt on The National Day of Silence in April. When he refused to remove the T-shirt he was suspended and subsequently filed the lawsuit.
The T-shirt was hand-lettered with the words "I Will Not Accept What God Has Condemned" on the front and on the back it read "Homosexuality is Shameful" and "Romans 1:27," a reference to a Bible passage.
The school district had tried to have the suit dismissed on the grounds school administrators were trying to diffuse a potentially dangerous situation.
In its brief to dismiss the suit Poway's lawyers said school officials feared the T-shirt would contribute to a polarized atmosphere between gay and heterosexual students.
In ruling that the suit could proceed U.S. District Judge John Houston said Friday that the case comes down to balancing the student's rights of free speech and religion against the school's duty to keep students safe, regardless of sexual orientation.
Houston also said that he believed Harper's suit would fail.
"School officials are in a better position, based upon their familiarity with the pulse and culture of the school setting, to decide whether restrictions on expression are appropriate," Houston wrote in his ruling.
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