A Massachusetts student has been banned from wearing a shirt stating, “There are only two genders,” by a federal court, in a ruling clouded in First Amendment controversy. The case was brought by student Liam Morrison before the First Circuit Court of Appeals for his right to wear the shirt to school after initially being told it wasn’t allowed.
However, Chief Judge David Barron, joined by judges Ojetta Thompson and Lara Montecalvo, asserted that school administrators possess leeway under the First Amendment to regulate content deemed potentially “demeaning.” Advocates for the student, represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, called out the ruling and are likely to appeal.
Notably, the student wore another shirt in protest saying, “There are [censored] genders,” following the school’s debarment of the first shirt. David Cortman, Senior Counsel, pressed that the case highlights a school dictating a view to students while forbidding different expressions on the same topic.
Legal experts suggest an inconsistency in applying First Amendment rights in this case compared to previous Supreme Court rulings which supported student speech. The ruling grants school authorities more scope for censoring student speech while empowering them to enforce certain views.