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] turnseighteen," 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.