An 8th-grader is suing his school district over its dress code ban on pro-gun shirts
Does a school ban on pro-gun T-shirts violate students’ First Amendment rights?
That’s the crux of a federal lawsuit filed on April 24 by an eighth-grader in Reno, Nev., who was punished in two separate incidents for wearing shirts promoting a local gun store and a gun advocacy group.
As the local Reno Gazette Journal reports, the dress code at Depoali Middle School and the greater Washoe County School District bans “anything that promotes weapons.”
The student, who has only been identified by the initials G.M., violated the ban on Nov. 20, 2017, and on March 12, according to the lawsuit. Last fall he wore a shirt, which featured a rifle and handgun, advertising the Sparks Black Rifle gun store.
Thin Blue Line and Red Line shirts back in stock. Cerakoted Yeti’s back in stock 20’s & 30’s.
A post shared by Sparks Black Rifle (@sparksblackrifle) on Mar 28, 2018 at 11:56am PDT
In the second incident, his Firearms Policy Coalition T-shirt did not feature gun imagery, but referenced the Second Amendment and the phrase “Don’t tread on me.” A teacher allegedly told him to cover the shirt, and said he could enjoy his “Second Amendment rights when he turns 18,” according to the lawsuit.
A post shared by Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) on Apr 24, 2018 at 2:02pm PDT
But it’s the First Amendment that could make or break his case. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court by his parents, claims that the school district violated his right to free speech.
“The shirt did not promote or advocate illegal activity; it contained no violent or offensive imagery; nothing on it was obscene, vulgar, or profane,” the lawsuit states. “And yet [the student] was prevented from wearing his shirt based on school officials’ disagreement with the message they believe it conveyed.”
“Any social studies teacher should know, the First Amendment protects students’ right to speak on political or social issues — including the right to express what school officials may consider unpopular or controversial opinions,” the boy’s attorney, David O’Mara, added, the Associated Press reports.
The nonprofit gun rights organizations Firearms Policy Coalition and Firearms Policy Foundation are both supporting the lawsuit and have published materials to inform students who are pro-gun on how to best assert their rights in the wake of school walkouts.
“Public schools may not violate the civil rights of pro-gun rights students because they don’t like the Second Amendment or people who support the fundamental, individual human right to armed self-defense,” Firearms Policy Coalition president Brandon Combs said in a press release.
“It is beyond outrageous that a friendly, peaceful young man was targeted and punished by the same school district that days later went out of its way to support gun control,” he added.
The school told the Reno Gazette Journal that it is “looking into the allegations.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
22-year-old college student sparks controversy by showing off gun in graduation photo
Teen banned from prom for posting a photo of a gun on social media: ‘I was just sharing what I like’
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
