Posted on 12/20/2004 9:13:26 PM PST by velocityguy
CAIR-OH: Suit Over School Ban on 'Islam is a Lie' T-Shirt Source: Columbus Dispatch Click here to view full text ...
James Nixon's fashion statement did not go unnoticed on Sept. 1 as he stood at his locker at Sheridan Middle School in Perry County.
The front of the seventh-grader's black T-shirt proclaimed in white block letters: "INTOLERANT: Jesus said . . . I am the way, the truth and the life. John 14:6."
The back of the T-shirt read: "Homosexuality is a sin, Islam is a lie, abortion is murder. Some issues are just black and white!"
Spotted by a guidance counselor after third period, the 12-year-old was sent to the vice principal's office, where he was asked to remove the garment or turn it inside-out, James' family says in a lawsuit filed Dec. 3.
School officials that day told the boy that the wording was offensive and disruptive. After he politely refused to remove the shirt, according to the lawsuit, his parents were told to take him home and James was threatened with suspension if he returned to school wearing it.
The lawsuit accuses the Northern Local School District of violating the boy's rights of free speech and free exercise of religion…
The school district's code of student conduct forbids clothing "that disrupts the educational process," including dress with "suggestive, obscene or offensive gang-related words and/or pictures..."
Executive directors of groups representing Muslims, abortion-rights supporters and gays questioned Nixon's choice of attire.
Jad Humeidan, executive director of the Ohio office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, saw dozens of people wearing the same shirt declaring "Islam is a lie" when Operation Rescue/Operation Save America rallied in Columbus in July, principally to protest abortion.
"To me, the shirt is very offensive. We have to be careful about hate speech and making sure the civil rights of other students are not violated by persons bringing hateful material into schools," he said
Islam is a lie. Hell, I'd wear that shirt in public areas.
And the shirt is wrong because.....?
Does anyone know where those shirts can be purchased?
Would you say the same thing if it were a pro-abortion T-shirt? One word: UNIFORMS.
"To me, the shirt is very offensive. We have to be careful about hate speech and making sure the civil rights of other students are not violated by persons bringing hateful material into schools," he said
The Civil rights of everyone except those who disagree!!
These HATE CRIME laws MUST be REPEALED!!! They are a supression of our Freedom of Speech and Expression guranteed by the Constitution!!! They are a Socialist Trick to undermine the Constitution!
My thoughts exactly. I want one of those shirts, so does hubby, and SIL, and mom... you get the idea.
So, how does that mooselimb think ANY of those TRUE statements are "hateful"? Tell you what, flying airplanes into buildings is what's REALLY hateful, you creep!
Agreed hundred percent!
I gotta get that T-Shirt shipped to me.
Hmm, not sure about this one. I once saw a young man wearing a t-shirt at a sporting event that stated "Christianity Is For Losers", and it offended me. And in a school environment, aren't there specific rules against wearing clothing that may incite violence?
See the front of the shirt here:
See the back of the shirt here:
Yeap, these people are like parasites.They should be eliminated.
The precedent is against them. Tinker v. Des Moines, which was decided in 1969, stated that protest expressed through clothing (the article of clothing in the case was a black armband against the Vietnam War, which got the kid wearing it suspended) is protected by the First Amendment.
bump for later read
We have to be careful about hate speech and making sure the civil rights of other students are not violated by persons bringing hateful material into schools
Everyone has the 'civil right' to express their opinion. Their is no constitutional right to never be offended. (The leftist activists have made that abundantly clear to us.)
Keep waiting...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
