Judge Rules School Must Allow Gay Pride Shirts
Wednesday 14th May 2008
A school that banned a student from wearing clothing with a gay pride message has been reprimanded by a judge.
A gay pride shirt in Rome, reading "Straight to the heart". Image by Giovanni Dall'Orto
On Tuesday US District Judge Richard Smoak ordered the Holmes County School Board to allow students to wear such clothing. He found that the school breached student Heather Gillman’s right to free speech when they prohibited her from wearing gay pride shirts in support of her openly gay student, another student at the school.
Gillman created and wore the t-shirts last year at Ponce de Leon High School in Northwest Florida. Her shirts carried slogans like “I support gay rights” and “I support equal marriage rights”. Principal David Davis threatened suspension for any students wearing such shirts, saying that they would be a distraction and could cause people to have mental images of gay people having sex.
Judge Smoak said: “I find that the core message here is of tolerance and fairness.”
He also scolded school administrators for their actions, telling them they missed a golden educational opportunity.
“This could have been an opportunity for leadership, an opportunity for understanding and civil discourse and a learning opportunity for tolerance and diversity. Unfortunately, those opportunities were missed,” said Smoak.
Smoak ruled that the “distractions” alleged by the school, including whispering, passing notes and occasionally shouting gay pride slogans, were well within the norm for high school students.
Principal Davis has allowed other controversial shirts on campus before with no issue, including pro-Confederacy shirts.
A gay pride shirt in Rome, reading "Straight to the heart". Image by Giovanni Dall'Orto
On Tuesday US District Judge Richard Smoak ordered the Holmes County School Board to allow students to wear such clothing. He found that the school breached student Heather Gillman’s right to free speech when they prohibited her from wearing gay pride shirts in support of her openly gay student, another student at the school.
Gillman created and wore the t-shirts last year at Ponce de Leon High School in Northwest Florida. Her shirts carried slogans like “I support gay rights” and “I support equal marriage rights”. Principal David Davis threatened suspension for any students wearing such shirts, saying that they would be a distraction and could cause people to have mental images of gay people having sex.
Judge Smoak said: “I find that the core message here is of tolerance and fairness.”
He also scolded school administrators for their actions, telling them they missed a golden educational opportunity.
“This could have been an opportunity for leadership, an opportunity for understanding and civil discourse and a learning opportunity for tolerance and diversity. Unfortunately, those opportunities were missed,” said Smoak.
Smoak ruled that the “distractions” alleged by the school, including whispering, passing notes and occasionally shouting gay pride slogans, were well within the norm for high school students.
Principal Davis has allowed other controversial shirts on campus before with no issue, including pro-Confederacy shirts.
