Judge supports
school's ban on antigay T-shirt

Two high school students in Naperville, Ill., have been prohibited from wearing T-shirts proclaiming "Be Happy, Not Gay" to class on the national Day of Silence, a day gay rights activists have set aside to bring attention to the discrimination LGBT people face. U.S. district judge William T. Hart ruled Tuesday against the students, who attend Neuqua Valley High School, reports the Associated Press. The Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian group, plans to appeal to the seventh circuit court to have the judge's injunction lifted. Attorney Jonathan Scruggs said the students' free speech rights are being violated. "The school cannot silence speech merely because some people find it offensive," Scruggs further commented. "We believe that's the core of what the First Amendment protects." Jack Canna, an attorney for Indian Prairie Unified School District 204, said prohibiting the students from wearing the T-shirts is part of a policy "to preserve the notion that kids shouldn't make negative or derogatory comments about other students." (The Advocate)