Students Challenge Intolerance of Their Free Speech Rights

e3mil.com ^ | 4/28/03

[nickcarraway]

Rock For Life, America's premier pro-life youth organization, is proud to announce that today, Monday, April 28, 2003 will be its first-ever National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day, when all pro-life students are encouraged to exercise their First Amendment right of free speech by wearing a pro-life T-shirt to school. "The idea to hold a National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day was inspired by the continued discrimination against pro-life students around the country," said Rock For Life's Sara McKalips. "These young men and women were not protesting, they were not being confrontational, they were simply wearing one of their favorite T-shirts to class and have been victims of unreasonable intolerance for that."

In a recent highly publicized case, the principal of Abington Junior High School in Abington, Pa., equated an honor roll student's wearing of a pro-life t-shirt to displaying the Nazi swastika. Principal Neal McCarthy banned the T-shirt, which read "Abortion is Homicide," temporarily from the school. The Thomas More Center for Law & Justice-which has offered to represent any student discriminated against during RFL's T-shirt Day-quickly took action on the student's behalf, demanding the school reverse the ban. After the threat of legal action, McCarthy reversed the ban and apologized to the student. In other cases, students have been suspended, given detention and physically assaulted for simply wearing a pro-life T-shirt in public.

As a sign of strength and unity, thousands of students will wear their shirts to show that the bigoted behavior of a few students and faculty will not dissuade them from affirming the most basic human right, the right to life. Since January 1, 2003, American Life League's resource department has distributed almost 5,000 pro-life T-shirts and sweatshirts to families, groups and schools who want to participate in this landmark event. Additionally, many families and schools are holding "make-your-own-T-Shirt" events in tandem with National Pro-Life T-shirt Day.

National Pro-Life T-shirt Day has been endorsed by many national leaders including American Life League founder Judie Brown, Ambassador Alan Keyes, Gary Cherone, former lead singer of Extreme and Van Halen, as well as Jerry Falwell and the Rev. Louis Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition.

[nickcarraway]

ping

[cpforlife.org]

National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day!!

Please let me know if you want on or off my Pro-Life Ping List

[cpforlife.org]

Hey Nick and everyone!

Check this great new tee shirt from Life Dynamics.

[annyokie]

Ah, freedom of speech. These punks have their fatcat parents paying their way through school and don't think twice about the kids their age who are dogging it out in Iraq so those folks can have their right to protest. Makes me sick.

[kalapuya]

This situation reminds me of the 61-year-old guy in that Albany, NY mall back in march who was asked to leave because he was wearing a t-shirt that said "give peace a chance" (which he had purchased at the mall), and was then arrested after he refused.

[bluefish]

In a recent highly publicized case, the principal of Abington Junior High School in Abington, Pa., equated an honor roll student's wearing of a pro-life t-shirt to displaying the Nazi swastika.

Leftists really chap my hide. Especially when they display this level of disgusting hatred towards those who woudl do good, while trivializing evil in such a reprehensible and illogical way. I hope lots of kids wear the t-shirts and I hope it scares the pants off this goon.

[nickcarraway]

Wow, that is all the more interesting if you consider the Passover angle.

Could Pharoah ever imagine that, in the future, a society would bring a plague like that upon itself? The plague that brought Pharoah to his knees, yet we've do it to ourselves, many times over, as a nation.

[weegee]

In a recent highly publicized case, the principal of Abington Junior High School in Abington, Pa., equated an honor roll student's wearing of a pro-life t-shirt to displaying the Nazi swastika. Principal Neal McCarthy banned the T-shirt, which read "Abortion is Homicide," temporarily from the school.

And yet the ACLU rallies behind this case instead:

ACLU to honor teen activist ( Bush is a terrorist T-shirt )

[Quix]

I still think we need to replace all use of the word

"abortion"

with the more accurate and impactful word

"INFANTICIDE."

The other side has gotten away far too much with redefining the vocabulary of the discussion, issue.

[Quix]

I agree.

It's illogical for me--and no doubt counterproductive and hypocritical . . .

however,

I wouldn't even complain if some pro-life T-shirts found their ways down some

throats of the opposition.

[NetValue]

"This situation reminds me of the 61-year-old guy in that Albany, NY mall back in march who was asked to leave because he was wearing a t-shirt that said "give peace a chance" (which he had purchased at the mall), and was then arrested after he refused."

It matters not WHY (disturbance, inebriation, dress, vulgarity, etc) anyone is asked to leave private property. To refuse to go when asked, constitutes an illegal trespass and you can be prosecuted and easily convicted.

[Desdemona]

I still think we need to replace all use of the word "abortion" with the more accurate and impactful word "INFANTICIDE." The other side has gotten away far too much with redefining the vocabulary of the discussion, issue.

BTTT

[lurky]

It matters not WHY (disturbance, inebriation, dress, vulgarity, etc) anyone is asked to leave private property.

Of course it does. A mall is one of those "public accomodation" dealies that fall under the non-discrim codes.

[mollynme]

Here's a free bumper sticker. (Might work on a t-shirt, too.

[Coleus]

Thanks, I'll pass the information around.

[Quix]

GREAT.

I think we should always say:

"DEATH CHOICE"

OR

"VIOLENT CHOICE"

position.

Never the simply "choice" position.

Great bumper sticker.

THANKS.

[Quix]

THOUGH I

think the word should be changed from ABOTION on it to

INFANTICIDE

[Quix]

THANKS.

Also--avoid saying just "the choice position."

Always say something like:

" . . . the death choice position"

or

" . . . . the violent choice position"

Thanks.
Blessings,

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

BTTT

[Coleus]

Posted here under a different title

Kicking off National Pro-Life T-Shirt Day [Monday, April 28]

[mollynme]

The idea is to use their own word (choice) against them. If the bumper sticker said "Infaticide the Violent Choice" they would agree with that & never see what it really meant.

[Quix]

Your point is quite astute, reasonable.

How about:

ABORTION
(INFANTICIDE)
THE
VIOLENT
CHOICE

???

[Mr. Silverback]

Awesome! Rock for Life um...well, ROCKS!

ProLife Ping!

If anyone wants on or off my ProLife Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.

[rhema]

Some signs of "life" at my (public) high school: students and teachers wearing rose and ribbon pins from VictoryWon.org (second-day UPS got them to us in time) and t-shirts inscribed "Children are a gift from God" and "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you" --God.

[kalapuya]

It matters not WHY (disturbance, inebriation, dress, vulgarity, etc) anyone is asked to leave private property. To refuse to go when asked, constitutes an illegal trespass and you can be prosecuted and easily convicted.

Wearing a t-shirt purchased at that mall does not belong in the same category as drunkenness, public disturbance, or vulgarity. I agree that the students banned for wearing anti-abortion shirts to school is ridiculous, but lets not be hypocritical here. Freedom of speech means tolerating messages you may disagree with.

[NetValue]

"Freedom of speech means tolerating messages you may disagree with."

No, it does not mean that at all. It means that government shall not make a law limiting the free exercise of speech. Read the First Amendment! Tolerance is not mentioned.

If you decide to spout off on my front lawn, and I tell you to leave, you better go, or you can be arrested and convicted of trespass....and free speech will not matter a whit. Malls are "private property" in most states. Failure to leave when asked is misdemeanor trespass. Your shirt won't save you from being ejected or arrested.

[MissAmericanPie]

Wow, that is stunning.

[rhema]

Malls are "private property" in most states. Failure to leave when asked is misdemeanor trespass. Your shirt won't save you from being ejected or arrested.

Legally, there's certainly nothing to argue. But if he bought the shirt from one of the mall shops and was doing nothing more inflammatory than wearing it while he strolled the mall, it's certainly hypocritical of management/security to ask that he leave. Either the mall's merchants association had better circumscribe the sale of such shirts or reconcile themselves to a well-earned PR black eye when they tell customers, "Thanks for spending your money here. Now hit the road, creep."