ACLU sues for students to wear anti-Islam shirts

[DemocratSinceBirth]

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union has sued a north Florida school district. The lawsuit claims the Alachua County School District violated students' rights by not allowing them to wear T-shirts with an anti-Islamic message.

The civil rights organization says it doesn't agree with the "Islam is of the Devil," message printed on T-shirts distributed by the Dove World Outreach Center and worn by area school children. But the ACLU says it supports the students' constitutional right to freedom of speech.

The district, which did not return a phone call seeking comment from The Associated Press, has called the messages disruptive and a violation of the dress code.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-anti-islam-t-shirts-at-school-20091123,0,2316574.story

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. Freedom of speech even allows the KKK to wear inciteful, derogatory t-shirts

I think there's a fine line between freedom and inciting violence. I leave it to the judges.

[dflprincess]

2. Technically the ACLU is correct

but I wonder why the knuckle draggers all think it's okay to be hateful about Gays and Muslims. I'd love to hear what they'd say if the ACLU was defending a group of non-Christian kids right to wear t-shirts that said "Christianity is of the Devil".

[cali]

5. Are you aware of precedent that leads you to believe the ACLU is technically

correct here?

[Xenotime]

8. They may be correct but they are not right.

[paulsby]

16. they are correct

as long as the school allows message shirts. i can research the case, we were discussing it in volokh a ways back, but it comes down to this...

IF the school allows "message shirts", then they can't prohibit specific content of the message shirts unless it is obscenities etc.

public schools, of course

[LiberalFighter]

3. What happens when someone wears one saying "Jesus didn't Exist"

or "Pope is the Anti-Christ"
or "Christians will go to Hell"

[TCJ70]

6. I don't understand your question...

...the ACLU is trying to make possible for these students to wear the Islam shirts. Chances are the shirts you mentioned wouldn't be banned in the first place.

[LiberalFighter]

9. So those that don't have a problem with the Islam shirt

won't have problem with anti-Christian shirts?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

11. Its due to slogan wars that many schools have a no slogan/pictures/logo rules for shirts

Almost makes sense with all the nonsense out there.

[SoCalDem]

12. Our schools used to be "no logo" schools

why anyone would go out of their way to insult someone else has always seemed odd.

I don;t blame schools a bit for banning tee shirts with ANY message or picture on them..

I'd prefer uniforms, but then the people who love to pay through the nose for school clothes always jump down my throat :)..my boys are all grown up, so now I just sit on the sidelines and marvel at how difficult everyone makes things:)

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. I prefer uniforms too, as did my girls

[SoCalDem]

14. It's always cracked me up.. People who would sell out Grandma

if given an opportunity to send their kid to a pricey private school, never seem to notice, or care, that those pricey schools have uniforms, and very strict rules.

but if a public school dares to tell their precious angel he can't wear an "Up with Whitey" shirt, they go ballistic:rofl:

[paulsby]

20. i went to a quaker school

no message shirts, and NO military garb (camo, etc.).

[paulsby]

18. i have a problem

with really hairy backed guys walking around shirtless

that's not the point

the point is it isn't within the authority of the schools to ban a specific message shirt, as long as they allow message shirts

[paulsby]

17. probably nothing

just like hordes of christians didn't storm the museum that was displaying a crucifix dipped in urine.

[cali]

4. the shirts can reasonably be deemed disruptive by the school district

I hope the ACLU fails on this one.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. Its very hard to defend a subjective standard. Its why zero tolerance is all the rage in school

administration these days.

When one school tried "affirmative statements only" a kid showed up with a "Straight Pride" hoody. School tried to declare it disruptive but lost horribly in court and the asst principal made it worse.

[Codeine]

15. Kids wear Bad religion tshirts all the time at at school.

Hell, I wear Bad Religion tshirts! Islam is no less mockable than Christianity.

[paulsby]

22. bingo

i used to wear a "jesus built my hot rod" t-shirt a la ministry.

nobody cared.

[Codeine]

23. Apropos of nothing,

Ding ding donga dong dong ding dong
Dingy dingy son of a gun!

[paulsby]

21. only if you like the heckler's veto

which is a bad thing

[SeattleGirl]

7. The folks in the Alachua County School District seem to have a

difficult time returning phone calls. I tried for months to get some information from them I needed on one of the injured worker cases I have, and they never got back to me.

At least the ACLU has some legal muscle behind them.

[The Straight Story]

19. Wear a shirt promoting hate against a religion other than Christianity - bad here

There is only one faith we can complain about that does not promote hate.