Posted on 07/10/2007 3:07:15 AM PDT by don-o
A U.S. District Court judge has been asked to reconsider his ruling in a 2004 free speech lawsuit filed by a former Poway High School student who was prohibited by school officials from expressing his opposition to a “Day of Silence” sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.
Tyler Harper, then a student at Poway High School, came to school wearing a T-shirt bearing the handwritten messages, “I will not accept what God has condemned” and “Homosexuality is shameful. Romans 1:27." School officials, claiming that Harper’s message could be disruptive, suspended him after he refused to take off the shirt.
Lawyers for Harper sued the school district on First Amendment and equal-protection grounds, seeking an injunction against enforcement of the school’s policy. They said the school’s policy constituted “viewpoint discrimination” that permitted one view on the subject of homosexuality but prohibited expression of an opposing view – thereby violating both the First Amendment and constitutional guarantees that everyone has the right to be treated equally before the law.
San Diego U.S. District Court Judge John A. Houston refused to issue the injunction, and, on appeal, a three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to uphold Houston. Later, using some of the reasoning of the 56-page appeals court decision, Houston ruled in favor of the school district in the underlying lawsuit.
(Excerpt) Read more at calcatholic.com ...
Ping to Mrs Don-o article. Freepmail me to be added or removed.
A typical “free speech for me, but not for thee” decision.
What would we ever do without the 9th?
Uh...are any of them nearing retirement?
Free Speech is only protected if its pornographic.
Great courage on this student's part. I am sure God will honor him for it.
The juxtapostion of that phrase is the mantra of Liberals and Democrats. I heard Charlie Rangle on talk radio last week, and he spewed hatred for evangelicals, the bible, and Christianity. At several points during the broadcast, he uttered the name "Jesus Christ!" but not to honor Him, rather as slander.
For Democrats, the phrase is:
"I will not accept what God has said."
See, this does no one any good and in the end it is only the students, who are cheated. This “day of silence” sounds moronic to begin with and suing the school board is not going to solve anything. It’s the same as when some atheist gets fired up and litigious about school prayer or some other like situation. What does a school board care, it’s taxpayer money.
Someone is always offended by something and it gets more and more ridiculous by the minute. School vouchers, school uniforms and elimination of the DoE would be a great start to ending this nonsense. Schools should be about the business of teaching and not serving as indoctrination camps for the PC flavor of the day. The key element to success can’t be legislated because it’s parents and/or guardians, that care.
The students shirt should go and the “day of silence” should be terminated. If one view is disruptive, in this particular case, then so is the other. Let the student wear his shirt and the rest have their “day of silence’ theatrics after school and somewhere else. Schools and school hours are for learning. After school, go anywhere you choose and express whatever you want to and promote the agenda of your choice.
Since Teachers Unions and Most Public School systems push Homosexual lifestyle as a Normal way of living then any person in these systems must be able to publicly state their beliefs.
Teachers promoting the homosexual lifestyle are really sick and should not be teaching in Public Schools..
Hear, hear! Just what I was going to say, only you said it better. Oh, for the days when appropriate dress for school did not include T-shirts and schools kept out of what used to be students' private lives -- beyond requiring a basic level of civility all around.
“Someone is always offended by something and it gets more and more ridiculous by the minute. School vouchers, school uniforms and elimination of the DoE would be a great start to ending this nonsense. Schools should be about the business of teaching and not serving as indoctrination camps for the PC flavor of the day. The key element to success can’t be legislated because it’s parents and/or guardians, that care.”
AGREED.
Each time the schools are abused further and further in the name of political correctness, ie, horrible indoctrination into stupid and wrong ideologies, I think of that al Pacino line from “Scent of a woman”:
‘They ought to take a flamethrower to this place.’
“The students shirt should go and the “day of silence” should be terminated. If one view is disruptive, in this particular case, then so is the other”
Absolutely - what is disruptive is having the school’s engage in cultural wars against traditional values.
this pic looks like reid is doing a good job keeping his lips still as his dummy talks...
t
That is one scary photo.
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