Judge upholds ban on anti-gay T-shirts
April 18, 2007
BY NATASHA KORECKI Federal Courts Reporter
nkorecki@suntimes.com
A federal judge on Tuesday upheld a Naperville high school's decision to ban "Be Happy, Not Gay" T-shirts.
U.S. District Judge William Hart declined to issue a preliminary injunction that would have allowed students to wear the T-shirts at a Thursday event.
Two students at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville -- who say they are deeply Christian and believe homosexuality is immoral -- brought their complaint to federal court. They wanted to wear the T-shirts a day after the Gay/Straight Alliance holds a day of silence today. Last year, one of the students who filed the complaint wore a "Be Straight, Not Gay" T-shirt and the school wanted the "not gay" stricken.
The school district was willing to allow the students alternatives such as "Be Happy, Be Straight" but didn't want the phrase "not gay," saying it was derogatory. The school likened it to saying "Be Happy, Not Christian."
Because the district offered alternatives, it was not violating the students' freedom of expression, Hart wrote.
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