ACLU Defends
Antigay T-Shirt in Illinois School

The American Civil Liberties Union has expressed support for a high school student who was suspended for wearing an antigay T-shirt, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Last year, Heidi Zamecnik, of Naperville, Ill., wore a shirt to school last that read "Be Happy, Not Gay" on the Day of Silence, when students can abstain from speaking to protest discrimination against the LGBT community. A school administrator, according to the lawsuit, demanded that Zamecnik remove the shirt. The Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal advocacy group, is suing Indian Prairie School District 204 for its decision.

The ACLU filed a friend-of-the-court brief in U.S. District Court, claiming the school's policy is unlawfully ambiguous and should better distinguish between protected speech and unprotected harassment. (The Advocate)