Video: Fifth-grader suspended from public school for wearing anti-Obama t-shirt

Needless to say, there must be some hefty consciousness-raising convos happening at the dinner table to motivate someone who won’t be able to vote for another seven years to design his own anti-Messiah shirts. But never mind that. Unconstitutional or no? Answer: Probably, although the latest major Supreme Court statement on school speech — the “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” case — left the jurisprudence sufficiently vague that you can argue it either way. The Warren Court standard was that students had more or less the same right of free speech as adults so long as they didn’t use it to cause any substantial disruptions at school. The Roberts Court’s gloss, per the “Bong Hits” opinion, is that the strict “substantial disruption” standard no longer applies and that courts should balance students’ right of expression with school administrators’ duty to protect students from advocacy of illegal activity. Where does that leave us here? Nothing illegal being advocated, but there’s bound to be some minor disruption as pro-Obama kids take exception to the message. My guess: Because the message is quintessentially political and judges love to slobber over political speech being at the core of the First Amendment (except in campaign-finance cases, of course), they’ll have no choice but to rule for the kid. Sue, Billy. Sue like the wind. Click the image to watch.

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Karen Townsend 2:00 PM | April 25, 2024
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