Student banned from wearing ‘There are only two genders’ T-shirt sues school

A 12-year-old honor roll student filed a First Amendment lawsuit on Wednesday against his middle school for its officials’ refusal to allow him to wear a T-Shirt that states: “There are only two genders.”

Seventh-grader Liam Morrison, in his lawsuit against those who oversee Nichols Middle School in Middleborough, Mass., argues that its speech policy is unconstitutional because it’s overly broad, infringes on his First Amendment rights, and allows campus leaders to enforce viewpoint discrimination.

The federal lawsuit repeatedly points out how the school celebrates LGBTQ themes, including during “Pride Month,” when students are encouraged to express themselves, yet Morrison’s belief there are only two sexes, male and female, is deemed a violation of the school’s speech policy.

“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 preferred orthodoxy,” said Tyson Langhofer, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents Morrison along with the Massachusetts Family Institute.

Langhofer, in a news release, added: “Public school officials can’t censor Liam’s speech by forcing him to remove a shirt that states a scientific fact. Doing so is a gross violation of the First Amendment.”