U.S. Supreme Court rejects “T-shirts with only two genders” case about students
John Kruzel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to hear challenges for students on the reasons for freedom of speech in Massachusetts public schools, as he was banned from reading “only two genders” in a T-shirt.
The justice rejected the student’s appeal, who was 12 years old at the time of the 2023 incident, was a lower court that ruled that the injunction was reasonably restrictive and rejected his claim that the school’s lawsuit violated the protection of government speech by the U.S. Constitution.
The student was identified as “LM” in court documents because he was a minor, prosecuted among officials from John T. Nichols High School and Middleborough Town, seeking money losses. The trial judge, then the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, ruled against him.
The First Circuit decision noted: “The information presented throughout school days denies the presence of transgender gender identity and the gender identity of non-qualified students, which will have a serious negative impact on these students' ability to focus on classroom work.”
The legal dispute hinted at the Supreme Court in 1969 in a 1969 titled Tinkerv. In the case of DesMoines Independent Community School District, the case allowed public schools to restrict student speeches to “substantially undermine” the school community.
The issue of trans rights is at the forefront and center of American cultural war. Since returning to office in January, Republican President Donald Trump has taken a tough stance on trans rights, aiming at “gender ideology” and announced that the U.S. government will recognize both men and women: men and women.
The Supreme Court on May 6 allowed Trump's administration to impose his ban on trans people in the military, allowing the armed forces to evacuate thousands of incumbent trans forces and reject recruits, while legal challenges revealed.
LM was a seventh grade student at the time and read “Only Two Genders” on a T-shirt in March 2023. His attorney said in court documents that he did this to “to share the same gender and gender, only two types of men and women – male and female”.
“LM wants to start a meaningful conversation about gender ideology, which is a matter of public concern; protect other students from ideas that LM considers false and harmful; and show them that compassionate people can believe that sexual behavior is binary.”
A teacher reported the shirt to the school principal's office, noting that the LGBT students attended the school that day and expressed concerns that the shirt might interrupt classes. The principal asked the boy if he would change his shirt and return to class, but he refused. The principal then called the boy's father, Chris Morrison, who chose to pick up his son from school rather than letting him take off his shirt.
Morrison was submitted for dress code in the school’s student manual after complaining about the incident to school officials. It states: “The costumes cannot illustrate, imply or depict hate speech or images based on race, race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious belief or any other classification.”
In May 2023, LM went to school again in a T-shirt but introduced the word “two” on a tape that read “censored” with the message: “There is (reviewed) gender.” LM took off her shirt after a school official asked.
During the lawsuit, the principal of the school system said some students at John T. Nichols High School “try to commit suicide or have suicidal thoughts over the past few years, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, and that the struggles of these students are “related to the treatment of other students.”
The boy filed a lawsuit with his father and stepmother, represented by Alliance Defunding Freedom, a conservative legal organization that represents a variety of high-profile cases before the Supreme Court.
The plaintiff asked the court to order prohibiting school officials from wearing T-shirts and declared a controversial part of the dress code unconstitutional. They also seek unspecified currency losses.
Indira Talwani, a U.S. District Court judge appointed by former Democratic President Barack Obama, ruled to support school officials. Last year, her ruling was upheld by the First Circuit, prompting the Supreme Court to appeal.
The Supreme Court, with a 6-3 Conservative majority, is expected to rule a major trans rights case by the end of June. During the case debate in December, Conservative judges said they were willing to uphold the Tennessee Republican-backed ban to promote gender-promoting health care for transgender people.
(Reported by John Kruzel; Edited by Will Dunham)
