Happy Shirts

For one student in Illinois, the “Day of Truth” may last all year.

To protest his school’s “Day of Silence” in 2007, Alexander Neuxoll countered the pro-homosexual celebration with a T-shirt that read, “Be Happy, Not Gay.” School officials ordered him to change, saying that the message was “insulting.”

Last week, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it was Alex’s free speech rights that were insulted, siding with the teen and his Alliance Defense Fund attorneys. Although the district alleged that Alex’s views “poisoned the educational atmosphere,” the judges found the slogan “tepidly negative.”

Tony Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council. This item is excerpted from the FRC Action Update that he compiles.