T-shirt ruling may impact day of silence

Attorneys for both sides in a case involving anti-gay T-shirts are pressing for a speedy ruling from a federal appeals court, in advance of this year's National Day of Silence. The case revolves around a Naperville high school's decision to bar students from wearing the shirts. Alexander Nuxoll and Heidi Zamecnik had tried to wear T-shirts that said on the front "My Day Of Silence, Straight Alliance, and the back read "Be Happy Not Gay" as a protest against the National Day of Silence in 2006. School officials ordered Zamecnik to remove the T-shirt. When she refused she was told to cross out "Not Gay" with a marking pen. Last year, with the help of the conservative Christian Alliance Defense Fund, the students went to court seeking an injunction barring the school from taking action against them for wearing the t-shirts in the future. A federal judge ruled that the school had the right to dictate a dress code. The school said it would allow the students to wear t-shirts that said "Be Happy, Be Straight" because it would not degrade another group. The ADF appealed the ruling to the Court of Appeals. Last week a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case. "Christian students shouldn't be discriminated against for expressing their beliefs," said ADF attorney Nate Kellum. "The Constitution prohibits school officials from singling out one viewpoint for censorship while allowing opposing viewpoints to be heard." At one point in the arguments Appellate Judge Richard Posner suggested that the T-shirt's message was just a play on words. "It's so tepid," said Posner. "It's just a pun because gay once meant happy. It's a joke." But, Thomas Canna, the attorney for the school board replied that the message was no laughing matter. "I don't believe it's a joke at all," he told the judges, "especially for someone struggling with their identity." The National Day of Silence, when students observe a vow of silence to bring attention to bullying and harassment of LGBT students, will be held on Apr. 25 this year. It will be dedicated to the memory of 15 year old Lawrence King. The openly gay eighth-grader was shot by a fellow student in front of classmates in February in Oxnard, California. He died after being declared brain dead and life support was removed. Brandon David McInerney, 14, has been charged with murder as a hate crime. A 2005 study commissioned by Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network found that gay-bashing remains a major problem in the nation's schools. Three-quarters of students surveyed across America said that over the past year they heard derogatory remarks such as "faggot" or "dyke" frequently or often at school, and nearly nine out of ten reported hearing "that's so gay" or "you're so gay" -- meaning stupid or worthless -- frequently or often. Over a third of students said they experienced physical harassment at school on the basis of sexual orientation and more than a quarter on the basis of their gender expression. Conservative Christian groups fighting to keep gay student clubs out of schools are holding counter protests to the Day of Silence, called National Day of Truth on April 28.