Banned Tee Shirt Appeal Denied

Posted by Ban Shirts

August 30, 2007

The US Circuit Court of Appeals Backed up the Decision that a San Diego High School can force a student to remove any tee shirt that is offensive to other students. San Diego School officials expressed concern when a student wore a anti-gay tee shirt to school. They worried that the tee shirt would create tension between the gay and straight community at the school that could possibly lead to violence. The student sued the school claiming that they violated his first amendment rights and that the dress code violated his right to free speech due process rights and freedom of religion. The panel of three judges held the lower court’s decision saying that the gay students would be injured mentally by the offensive tee shirt. This could lead to a disruption in their education. Furthermore, all students have the right to an education and to be free from vicious attacks both physically and verbally while on school campuses no matter what their orientation is. The “Poway High School Hate Policy” allows schools to ban speeches that are hurtful to specific groups of people, and is without limit. A school can ban any speech under this policy.

Banned T-Shirts