 It’s official: putting a rainbow sticker on your bag, or wearing a badge that
says ‘I support gay rights’ does not induce a gay porn scenario in the viewer’s
mind.
That’s the ruling handed down by a US federal judge to a Florida
high school following complaints by the school’s principal that
viewing such material made students visualize gay sex.
The principal had banned a 16-year-old female student from wearing
the "sexually suggestive" material.
Heather Gillman then sued the school, and the United States
District Court ruled that her ban violated the First Amendment right of
students.
The First Amendment states that the US Congress cannot make,
and by inference condone, any law that prohibits fredom of speech.
When asked for clarification on the issue, the school district, standing by their principal, replied
it would not allow any expressions of support for gay rights at all because
such speech would "likely be disruptive".
The district said such symbols and slogans were signs that
students were part of a “secret/illegal organization”.
"Freedom of speech for every person and every idea is one of the bedrock
principles on which America was founded,” said Christine Sun, a staff attorney
with the ACLU national Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project.
"Censorship reflects a deep lack of faith in the
American system, and it teaches students exactly the wrong lesson on what
America is about."
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