U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear ‘there are only two genders’ t-shirt case involving Middleborough student

Middleborough – Alliance Defending Freedom has announced the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Tuesday not to hear L.M. v. Town of Middleborough, a case where a Massachusetts school banned a then 12-year-old Liam Morrison from wearing a t-shirt to school with the words “There are only two genders” and then later, “There are [censored] genders,” on the front.

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation David Cortman stated that “we’re disappointed the Supreme Court chose not to hear this critical free speech case. As Justice Alito recognized: ‘The case presents an issue of great importance for our Nation’s youth.’ Students don’t lose their free speech rights the moment they walk into a school building. Schools can’t suppress students’ views they disagree with. Here, 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. Alliance Defending Freedom will continue to defend the rights of students to speak freely on important issues of the day without government censorship.”

In June, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit affirmed the school’s decision, prompting ADF attorneys to ask the high court to review the case and rule that Nichols Middle School in Middleborough violated the First Amendment when it stopped the student from wearing his shirts to school.

The June decision will now stand that it was reasonable for the school to conclude the shirt could be disruptive.

“Students don’t lose their free speech rights the moment they walk into a school building,” said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation David Cortman. “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. 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 petition filed with the Supreme Court stated, “Middleborough bombarded L.M., a middle school student, with messages promoting its view that sex and gender are self-defined, limitless, and unmoored from biology. Seeing these ideas false and harmful, L.M. responded by donning a ‘There are only two genders’ t-shirt expressing his differing view and, after Middleborough suppressed that shirt, wearing a ‘There are [censored] genders’ t-shirt protesting censorship, which Middleborough banned too.”

“L.M. sought to participate in his school’s marketplace of ideas and address sociopolitical matters in a passive, silent, and untargeted way,” the petition continues. “This Court’s review is urgently needed to reaffirm that Tinker protects ‘unpopular ideas,’ public schools can’t establish what is ‘orthodox in … matters of opinion,’ and students aren’t ‘confined to the expression of … sentiments that are officially approved.’”

The petition further stated that, “The [1st Circuit’s] ruling is irreconcilable with this Court’s decisions and students’ First Amendment right ‘to freedom of expression of their views,’ ‘on controversial subjects like’ gender identity.”

Attorneys with ADF and Massachusetts Family Institute representing the student filed the lawsuit, L.M. v. Town of Middleborough, in May 2023.