Judge upholds ban on
anti-gay T-shirts
BY NATASHA KORECKI,
suntimes.com from the Web, April 18, 2007
A federal judge on Tuesday upheld a
Naperville high school's decision to ban "Be Happy, Not Gay" T-shirts.
U.S. District Judge William Hart declined to issue a preliminary injunction that
would have allowed students to wear the T-shirts at a Thursday event.
Two students at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville -- who say they are
deeply Christian and believe homosexuality is immoral -- brought their complaint
to federal court. They wanted to wear the T-shirts a day after the
Gay/Straight Alliance holds a day of silence today. Last year, one of the
students who filed the complaint wore a "Be Straight, Not Gay" T-shirt and the
school wanted the "not gay" stricken.
The school district was willing to allow the students alternatives such as "Be
Happy, Be Straight" but didn't want the phrase "not gay," saying it was
derogatory. The school likened it to saying "Be Happy, Not Christian."
Because the district offered alternatives, it was not violating the students'
freedom of expression, Hart wrote.
Federal Courts Reporter
nkorecki@suntimes.com
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