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School district sued for punishing student clad in gun tee |
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Written by Justin Hemlepp
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Tuesday, 11 March 2008 |
Another family is fighting the suppression of free speech by public schools. According to AP, “[t]he family of a middle school student who was given detention for wearing a T-shirt bearing the image of a gun has filed a federal freedom of speech lawsuit against the school district.”
We’ve all seen the so-called “terrorist hunting permits” plastered in the rear windows of Confederate flag-sporting pickups. Apparently, similar shirts are in vogue as well. AP reports, “[t]he shirt bears the image of a military sidearm and on the front pocket says "Volunteer Homeland Security." On the back, over another image of the weapon, are the words "Special issue Resident Lifetime License — United States Terrorist Hunting Permit — Permit No. 91101 — Gun Owner — No Bag Limit."
The idea of a “terrorist hunting permit” certainly is borderline tasteless, but the government should not be involved in matters of taste. And, indeed, it says it isn’t. “[A]n attorney for the school district said school must create a safe environment for students in the post-Columbine era, and bringing even the image of a gun to school violates the district's policy,” AP reports.
If it hasn’t become abundantly clear already, Columbine is to schools as Sept. 11 is to nationally security. Each is a bland, worn out excuse to forsake liberty in favor of false security. One wonders when the school’s library will be stripped of books detailing history’s violent human struggles, or whether the images of weaponry will simply be redacted.
[Yahoo]
Justin Hemlepp, executive editor of TheSequitur.com, is a third-year law student. |
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