Freedom is not free!!!!!!
8:45 a.m. September 16, 2004 SAN DIEGO – A federal judge today will consider a case that began with a provocative T-shirt and now pits freedom of speech against a school district's effort to protect gay students. Advertisement Tylar Chase Harper, 16, wore a T-shirt reading "Homosexuality is Shameful" to Poway High School last spring during a school-sponsored day meant to promote tolerance of gays and lesbians, according to the Los Angeles Times. Administrators told him the shirt violated school policy and that he would be suspended if he tried to wear it on campus. On behalf of the teenager, the Alliance Defense Fund, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., filed a suit against the Poway Unified School District alleging Harper was being denied his constitutional rights, The Times reported. The group is asking U.S. District Court Judge John Houston to order the district to allow Harper to wear the shirt, The Times reported. Bill Chiment, the district's assistant superintendent, told The Times that school officials are trying to decrease tensions between gay and straight students and feel caught between the 1st Amendment and a new state law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. The T-shirt incident occurred April 22 during the national Day of Silence, an annual event sponsored by gay-rights groups. The Gay-Straight Alliance, a student group, had received approval for the school to observe the day. On the Day of Silence, Harper wore a T-shirt that read: "Homosexuality Is Shameful" and "Our School Embraced What God Has Condemned." Stand tall, even if you are alone.
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8:45 a.m. September 16, 2004 SAN DIEGO – A federal judge today will consider a case that began with a provocative T-shirt and now pits freedom of speech against a school district's effort to protect gay students. Advertisement Tylar Chase Harper, 16, wore a T-shirt reading "Homosexuality is Shameful" to Poway High School last spring during a school-sponsored day meant to promote tolerance of gays and lesbians, according to the Los Angeles Times. Administrators told him the shirt violated school policy and that he would be suspended if he tried to wear it on campus. On behalf of the teenager, the Alliance Defense Fund, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., filed a suit against the Poway Unified School District alleging Harper was being denied his constitutional rights, The Times reported. The group is asking U.S. District Court Judge John Houston to order the district to allow Harper to wear the shirt, The Times reported. Bill Chiment, the district's assistant superintendent, told The Times that school officials are trying to decrease tensions between gay and straight students and feel caught between the 1st Amendment and a new state law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. The T-shirt incident occurred April 22 during the national Day of Silence, an annual event sponsored by gay-rights groups. The Gay-Straight Alliance, a student group, had received approval for the school to observe the day. On the Day of Silence, Harper wore a T-shirt that read: "Homosexuality Is Shameful" and "Our School Embraced What God Has Condemned." Stand tall, even if you are alone.
Isaac Sandifer Jr.
Cleophas Reaves Jr.
