LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - A Georgia high school student silenced by school officials is now free to wear shirts promoting a pro-life message after the Alliance Defense Fund intervened on his behalf.
"Schools should be educating students about the First Amendment, not trampling it," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Cortman. "It should be clear by now that the First Amendment does not contain exemptions against unpopular speech."
Brian Ramirez, a student at Maxwell High School of Technology in Lawrenceville, Ga., was told by school authorities Oct. 26 and 27 that his pro-life clothing, which bore messages such as "Abortion is Homicide" and "She is a Child not a Choice" were prohibited. Ramirez had worn the clothing at various times throughout the school year.
After respectfully refusing to adhere to an assistant principal's request to remove the clothing, he was served an in-school suspension. Additionally, he was penalized with a "0" grade for each day's lab missed while in suspension and informed he would remain on suspension each day he continued to wear pro-life messages.
After Brian's family contacted ADF, school officials quickly reversed course, allowing Ramirez to wear the shirts without detention, along with clarifying to the media that no school policy was violated. The incident will also be expunged from Ramirez' record.
"We are extremely pleased that the school has chosen to drop its policy against pro-life clothing," Cortman said. "Nearly 40 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that a 'quiet and passive' protest by students wearing black armbands was indeed protected by the First Amendment. Other than the target of protest, Brian's situation was no different."
Read the letter Cortman wrote to the principal of Maxwell High School at
www.telladf.org/UserDocs/RamirezDemandLetter.pdf.
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