Lawsuit over a First Amendment right to support the Second Amendment

[ArcadiaGP]

Lawsuit over a First Amendment right to support the Second Amendment

A Nevada school district unlawfully required a student not to wear a gun rights T-shirt, according to a First Amendment lawsuit filed today in federal court.

The lawsuit says that an 8th-grade student at Kendyl Depoali Middle School in Reno was prohibited from wearing a Firearms Policy Coalition t-shirt, which included the words "Don't Tread On Me" and a coiled rattlesnake—a reference to the Revolution-era Gadsden flag—but no actual depiction of a firearm. It also included the letters "2A," meaning the Second Amendment.

Brooke May, a teacher at the school, claimed last month that the shirt violated the dress code and said the 8th-grader could have his "Second Amendment rights when [he] turns eighteen," according to the complaint. The dress code prohibits "obscene" language, anything that "may be deemed a safety issue," and "anything that promotes weapons."

The student, who is named by the initials G.M. in the complaint because he is a minor, responded by covering the shirt with a sweatshirt. He has not worn it to school again.

In short, this is a First Amendment case about the Second Amendment. The groups that filed the suit hope to push back against the many public school districts that lack an appreciation for both free speech and gun rights.

 

[Itchytriggerfinger]

I read this earlier today and just shook my head. We'll all be wearing nondescript shirts soon.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I would love to see the school lose this suit, but I have my doubts that they will. They'll fall back on the old, tired "it's disrupting class" argument which I find about as credible as "because I said so".

 

[HoughMade]

From the ACLU:

https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/students-free-speech-rights-public-schools

You do not lose your right to free speech just by walking into school. You have the right to speak out, hand out flyers and petitions, and wear expressive clothing in school — as long as you don’t disrupt the functioning of the school or violate the school’s content-neutral policies.What counts as “disruptive” will vary by context, but a school disagreeing with your position or thinking your speech is controversial or in “bad taste” is not enough to qualify. Courts have upheld students’ rights to wear things like an anti-war armband, an armband opposing the right to get an abortion, and a shirt supporting the LGBT community. And “content-neutral policies” means rules that have nothing to do with the message you’re expressing, like dress codes. So, for example, a school can prohibit you from wearing hats — because that rule is not based on what the hats say — but it can’t prohibit you from wearing only pink *****cat hats or pro-NRA hats.

 

[Mark 1911]

If I understand the message correctly, walking out of a class to support an anti-gun protest is less disruptive to the class than attending class with an image of a Gadsden Flag on a T-shirt?

I detect a hint of bias on the part of the indoctrination team.

 

[actaeon277]

Well... apparently going to the gun range in Florida and posting pics is disruptive.