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Lawyer: Court denies Massachusetts boy ability to wear certain t-shirts to school, will appeal

Published

1 year ago

June 24, 2023

Ken Paiva

BOSTON – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing a Massachusetts seventh-grade student who wasn’t allowed to wear two t-shirts to school—one that reads “There are only two genders” and one that reads “There are censored genders”- suffered a setback in court.

Earlier this month, a hearing took place at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston and involved a motion for a preliminary injunction, in which ADF attorneys requested that the court prevent Nichols Middle School in Middleborough from prohibiting Liam Morrison from wearing his shirts to school while the case proceeds.

Logan Spena, legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom made the following statement after the proceedings. “Students don’t give up their free speech when they walk into the school building, and we hope the court will recognize that and allow Liam to wear his shirt for the rest of the school year. Today’s hearing went well, and we are hopeful the First Amendment’s full protection will be extended to Liam, not just for his sake, but for all students.”

According to ATF, this week the court ruled against Morrison.

“We’re disappointed that a federal district court in MA has denied Liam Morrison the opportunity to exercise his free speech by wearing his shirt to school. Public school officials cannot censor a 7th grader’s free speech by forcing him to remove a shirt that responds to the school’s messages about sex and gender. This is a gross violation of the First Amendment. We will appeal this ruling to the First Circuit Court of Appeals.”

“This isn’t about a T-shirt; this is about a public school telling a seventh grader that he isn’t allowed to hold a view that differs from the school’s orthodoxy,” said Spena. “Public school officials can’t force Liam to remove a shirt that states his position when the school lets every other student wear clothing that speaks on the same issue. Their choice to double down and silence him when he tried to protest their censorship is a gross violation of the First Amendment that we’re urging the court to rectify.”

Attorneys with ADF and Massachusetts Family Institute filed a lawsuit last month on behalf of Morrison.

In March, Morrison wore the “There are only two genders” t-shirt. The principal of the school, along with a school counselor, pulled Morrison out of class and ordered him to remove his shirt. After Morrison declined, school officials said that he must remove the shirt to return to class. As a result, Morrison left school and missed the rest of his classes that day.

In early May, Morrison wore a shirt that reads “There are censored genders” in protest. When Morrison arrived at school, his teacher instructed him to go to the principal’s office where he was told that he could not wear that shirt at school.

In the case, L.M. v. Town of Middleborough, ADF attorneys say that Middleborough school officials have adopted one particular view on the subject of sex and gender. ADF attorneys believe that school officials’ censorship of Morrison’s message violates the First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

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.

School officials and the town have yet to comment on the incidents or the lawsuit.