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PATC Article Detail
Title:
Teen challenges ìDress Codeî
T-Shirt ìHomosexuality is Shamefulî
Author:
ID:
LL171
Issue:
SU2-4
Issue Date:
2005-07-01
Edition:
School
Type:
Article
Body:
Tyler Chase Harper expressed his ìsincerely held religious beliefsî on April 21, 2004 ñ a day designated by some college students to show support for homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender students ñ by wearing a T-shirt that read: "I will not accept what God has condemned and homosexuality is shameful."
The next day, when he wore a shirt to school that said, ìBe ashamed our school has embraced what the Lord has condemnedî on the front and ìhomosexuality is shamefulî and ìRomans 1:27î on the back, he was suspended Not long after his suspension, Tylerís parents filed suit on his behalf against the Poway Unified School District in Pasadena, Calif. The suit named the school district and Tylerís high school, as well as various school officials, as defendants. The complaint alleged violations of Tylerís rights of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and equal protection of the law. A U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles dismissed part of the case last November, resulting in an appeal before the Ninth Circuit. C-SPAN recently televised the oral arguments before the appellate court in Harper v. Poway Unified School District. According to a 2004 Associated Press story about the lawsuit, Tyler, a sophomore at Poway High School, is a ìChristian who believes that homosexual behavior is immoral; damaging to the practitioners and to human society in general; and ìdemonstrably contrary to the teachings of the Bible.î The lower courtís opinion said that a teacher told Tyler April 22, the second day, that his shirt violated the school dress code and that he had to either remove it or report to the school office. The school vice principal, Lynell Antrim, reiterated what the teacher had told Tyler and explained that the T-shirt violated the dress code because it had a homemade message and the words were ìinflammatory.î The opinion said that Tyler ìpolitelyî refused to remove the shirt when Antrim requested he do so. He then asked to meet with the school principal, Scott Fisher. According to the opinion, Fisher told Tyler the message was ìtoo aggressiveî and that he had to remain in the school office until the end of school. On Fisherís orders, Tyler was escorted from school by the most direct route without being allowed to go to his locker. Near the end of the school day, Tyler met with another vice principal, Ed Giles, who told Tyler that he also was a Christian and that he had to ìleave his faith in the car when he came to school,î according to the court opinion. The vice principal told Tyler that he too had to leave his faith in the car. Giles met with Tylerís father the following day and explained to him that the message on the T-shirt was negative and only ìpositive community messages were allowed.î According to the AP story, Robert Tyler, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, is handling the lawsuit on behalf of the student. The AP quoted the attorney as saying: ìWhen are public school officials going to learn they are not allowed to silence constitutionally protected speech just because they disagree with the student?î The AP described the defense fund as a ìScottsdale, Ariz.-based group that provides funding, training and legal aid to lawyers and others to defend what it defines as ëthe legal battle for religious freedom, sanctity of life and the preservation of family and marriage.íî The lawsuit seeks the court to bar the district and school from ìselectively banning religious expressionî and to grant at least $25,000 in damages. It will probably be several weeks before the appellate court issues its ruling in the matter.
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