The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of Liam Morrison, a Massachusetts middle school student disciplined for wearing a shirt stating, “There are only two genders.” The refusal lets stand a June 2024 ruling by the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with school officials who claimed the shirt disrupted the learning environment and made transgender students feel unsafe, the Associated Press reported.
Morrison, who was in seventh grade, was removed from class in 2023 after refusing to change shirts. This reportedly happened once with the original message and again with a shirt displaying a censored version.
In response his family sued, alleging First Amendment violations.
In his dissent, Justice Samuel Alito warned the decision harms student free speech rights. He criticized schools for permitting pro-transgender messages while appearing to target dissenting views, according to media reports. Clarence Thomas also dissented.
Alliance Defending Freedom and the Massachusetts Family Institute backed the case.
See related links below:
Supreme Court lets punishment stand after kid wore ‘only 2 genders’ shirt to school —Christian Post
Supreme Court rejects appeal of Massachusetts student who wanted to wear ‘only two genders’ T-shirt —Associated Press
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was compiled from news reports by The Baptist Paper.
