Ohio school district sued for banning 'Jesus Is Not a Homophobe' T-shirt

From MSNBC courtesy of the Huffington Post:

An Ohio high school student says school officials are violating his freedom of expression because they won’t let him wear a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Jesus Is Not a Homophobe.”

The shirt, high school student Maverick Couch told the Cincinnati Enquirer, is designed to show support for the "Day of Silence," on April 20, a national event that puts a spotlight on how bullying keeps gay and lesbian students from speaking out.

And

Maverick Couch told the Enquirer that school officials said the shirt was “indecent and sexual in nature.”

More here, with video.

Some observations.

1. This young man is on very strong ground with his lawsuit. Being told he can't wear it violates the first amendment in two ways. First, it's clearly a violation of his free speech rights, which minors in public school definitely have, albeit in a somewhat limited form. T-shirts, arm bands, non-intrusive expressions of opinion, all these things fall well within that limited scope. Second, it's clearly a violation of his religious freedom. I mean, it's a statement about Jesus, after all, just as religious as shirts that say things like "Jesus loves you." He's very likely to win, and the school district will be spending money to fight a losing case, and then spending money on damages, instead of hiring another teacher, or improving district facilities, or any number of other things that would actually benefit students.

2. This rather arbitrary interpretation of the dress code is fairly typical of the primary mandate operating within all public schools, to indoctrinate children into a culture of obedience and authority. I mean, seriously. Saying that Jesus was not a homophobe is in no way threatening to the daily functioning of the school. Indeed, it comes straight out of the current headlines. Former President Carter recently said essentially the same thing. No, this is all about keeping order, no doubt mixed with a little old fashioned homophobia, to boot.

3. Saying that somebody is or isn't homophobic is about as sexual as saying you're going on a date, or that you have a girlfriend. Sure sure, all three notions are indirectly, very indirectly, related to sexuality. But so is being pregnant. Or having a mother. This is some really fucking stupid bullshit, and yet more evidence that the people running our schools aren't particularly intelligent.

Just another day in America's fucked up field of education.

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