Thursday, October 22, 2009

Fed Judge: Student's T-shirt Slamming ObamaCare OK

Christian middle-school student who sued his school will be allowed to wear pro-life T-shirts

-- From "Middle-school student may wear pro-life t-shirt" by staff and wire reports, Lancaster Newspapers 10/21/09

A federal judge has ruled that a Lewisberry middle-schooler may wear a pro-life t-shirt carrying the message "Abortion is not Healthcare."

Randall Wenger, chief counsel of the Independence Law Center, which defended the student, announced the ruling today.

The West Shore School District had prohibited the student, identified in court records only as E.B., from wearing the t-shirt because administrators feared it might offend other students. They ordered him to wear the shirt inside out.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Court: Boy can wear 'insulting' pro-life shirt" by Chelsea Schilling © 2009 WorldNetDaily 10/21/09

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed the complaint in federal court against the West Shore School District in Lewisberry, Pa., Oct. 5 on behalf of E.B.

The boy's parents, identified as the Boyers, said they were concerned about the president's speech and the national health-care debate, including reported funding of abortion within proposed legislation.

"[T]he Boyers, like many others, felt that President Obama was bypassing them and speaking directly to their children without their permission," the complaint states. "… Like many others, the Boyers struggled with whether they should send their children to school on that day. E.B. attended school and decided to voice his religious viewpoint as it relates to the issue of abortion."

The boy wore the T-shirt to his classes at Crossroads Middle School and said he received no complaints until his fifth-period teacher ordered him to go to the principal's office to determine whether the shirt was "appropriate."

According to the lawsuit, the school's "draconian censorship of plaintiff's religious and political speech, and the policies on which that censorship was based, violate First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution."

The complaint states that E.B. wishes to wear T-shirts expressing his Christian faith and political views because he "desires to reach out to his peers and to offer them advice, assistance, and education" and to "discuss relevant issues facing students at school, including faith and religion, personal responsibility, sexual abstinence, keeping children in the event of pregnancy, just to name a few."

The West Shore School District agreed to an Oct. 19 order prohibiting school officials from enforcing the controversial policies and temporarily allowing E.B. to wear his T-shirts.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.