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7th Cir Rules Anti-Gay T-Shirt Allowed

By Christopher

In a very narrow opinion written by Judge Posner of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, an Illinois school district was ordered to allow an anti-gay student activist to wear a t-shirt that reads "Be Happy, Not Gay". The student will only be allowed to wear his shirt on Monday, April 28, the so-called "Day of Truth" which is organized by religious zealots as a counterpoint to the "Day of Silence", which is a protest against anti-gay harassment and violence.

One of the issues in the case are the First Amendment rights of students versus the ability of a school to prevent speech that would disrupt the educational process. The Court noted that the plaintiffs in the case concede that they would not be allowed to wear shirts that would be considered "fighting words", an important point that is then lost in the ruling. (Since the Day of Silence is, as Judge Posner notes, not pro-gay but rather against harassment and violence of gays, and the so-called Day of Truth was set up as a counterpoint to the Day of Silence, shouldn't it be obvious that the so-called Day of Truth, and the plaintiff's anti-gay t-shirt, are both clearly examples of the anti-gay harassment that the Day of Silence is intended to protest?)

The opinion also notes that the plaintiffs will undoubtedly want a broader ruling than the narrow one granted by the Court, so this will hardly be the last we hear of this case.

Full post as published by Queer Law Watch on April 25, 2008 (boomark / email).