Judge rules against Middleborough teen who wore “There are only two genders” shirt to school

BOSTON – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys were denied an appeal Sunday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit in L.M. v. Town of Middleborough. Upholding a judge’s previous ruling.

In the case, ADF attorneys are representing Liam Morrison, a middle-school student who was forbidden by his school from wearing a T-shirt to school that said, “There are only two genders” and then was changed to say, “There are [censored] genders” in 2023.

ADF attorneys asked the court to rule that Nichols Middle School in Middleborough violated the First Amendment when it stopped the student from wearing his shirts to school. They also asked the court to stop the school from enforcing what they call an unconstitutional dress code policy that discriminates against students based on the viewpoint they express.

“Students don’t lose their free speech rights the moment they walk into a school building. This case isn’t about T-shirts; it’s about a public school telling a middle-schooler that he isn’t allowed to express a view that differs from their own” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation David Cortman. “The school actively promotes its view about gender through posters and ‘Pride’ events, and it encourages students to wear clothing with messages on the same topic—so long as that clothing expresses the school’s preferred views on the subject. Our legal system is built on the truth that the government cannot silence any speaker just because it disapproves of what they say. The 1st Circuit erred in its decision denying L.M. his right to free speech, and we are reviewing all legal options including appealing this decision.”

Attorneys with ADF and Massachusetts Family Institute filed the lawsuit in May of last year on behalf of the student after he wore the “There are only two genders” T-shirt to school to share his belief that there are only two sexes, male and female—and that a person’s gender—their status as a boy or girl, woman or man—is inextricably tied to biological sex. The principal of the school, along with a school counselor, pulled the student out of class and ordered him to remove his shirt. After he politely declined, school officials said that he must remove the shirt to return to class. As a result, the student left school and missed the rest of his classes that day.

Morrison then chose to wear an altered shirt that read, “There are [censored] genders” to protest the fact that only some messages about gender are allowed. As soon as he arrived at school, his teacher told him to go to the principal’s office, where he was told that he could not wear that shirt either.

ADF attorneys stated that they appealed to the 1st Circuit in September and received support from 16 states and multiple advocacy groups in favor of the student’s freedom of speech.

According to NBC10 Boston, transgender rights activist Mason Dunn stated that a pride flag and a shirt denying gender identity are not comparable as the shirt could incite violence. “Messages of pride are messages of support, messages of affirmation, not messages of hate or bias,” Dunn said.