Mary Beth Tinker: "Some clothing bans OK"

[old as dirt]

An Iowa school suspended a student for wearing a T-shirt depicting a gun. Now she's suing

Des Moines Register




snip-------------

Mary Beth Tinker: Some clothing bans OK



Mary Beth Tinker talked about free speech issues to students from various high schools in Iowa during a program making the 50th anniversary of the Tinker vs Des Moines free speech case in 2019 at the State Historical Society of Iowa building in Des Moines.

The student's lawsuit draws many parallels to Tinker vs. Des Moines, which began in 1965 when lead plaintiff Mary Beth Tinker, then a 13-year-old student at what is now Des Moines' Warren Harding Middle School, was suspended along with other students for wearing black armbands after a school board order not to.

Yet Tinker herself told the Des Moines Register she thinks the Johnston district is likely to win if the lawsuit reaches a judgment on the merits.

"Under (the Tinker decision), there is ample room for the censorship of messages that impinge on the rights of others, the often-overlooked second part of the Tinker test," Tinker said in an email, pointing to the Supreme Court's holding that "conduct by the student ... which for any reason ... involves substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others is, of course, not immunized by the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech."

Tinker said she believes wearing a shirt to school depicting a gun might constitute such an invasion of the rights of others, not just of other students, but of teachers, staff and visitors to the school.

But another expert, Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said he doubts a court would accept that argument.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2023/02/08/pro-gun-rights-t-shirt-prompts-suspension-iowa-student-sues-schools-second-amendment-free-speech/69881634007/

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Student's Second Amendment shirt prompts First Amendment lawsuit

The thread, started by kelly1mm, got locked for being based on an article that was over 12 hours old.

Fri Feb 10, 2023: Student's Second Amendment shirt prompts First Amendment lawsuit

Source: Washington Post

At the start of the school year, Johnston High School government teacher Thomas Griffin gave a lesson about free speech, explaining that students’ rights to it were “extremely limited” while on school property, according to a new lawsuit.

He said that he wouldn’t allow students to “wear any clothing that depicts guns, alcohol, or any other ‘inappropriate material,’” the document alleges.

But one student at the Johnston, Iowa, school felt her teacher was “wrong about the scope” of the First Amendment. The next time she had class, she walked in wearing a black T-shirt that read “What part of ‘shall not be infringed’ do you not understand?” alongside an image of a rifle.

Soon after, she was removed from class and later suspended from school, according to the lawsuit, which her mother filed against the Johnston Community School District and several employees, including Griffin. The lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/student-s-second-amendment-shirt-prompts-first-amendment-lawsuit/ar-AA17k7AD

kelly1mm added the comment:

The school district is (rightly) going to lose this case. I always wonder why administrators don't contact their legal department on obviously charged issues before making decisions.

About Thomas Griffin:

Thomas Griffin
Educator

Johnston High School • Johnston, Iowa

Besides being named a James Madison Fellow, Thomas Griffin’s proudest moments as a teacher over the last thirteen years have come while “working with students who have been implementing projects designed for civic engagement in which they took action in an effort to address problems that were important to them.”

Thomas currently teaches U.S. History, World History, and AP World History at Johnston High School in Johnston, Iowa. He currently serves on the Bill of Rights Institute’s teacher advisory council and has attended several BRI seminars over the years and uses several resources in his classroom. One of his favorite lessons is “What is the Significance of the Free Exercise Clause?”

{snip}

About the Bill of Rights Institute (BRI):

Bill of Rights Institute

Key people:
President
· David Bobb
Board of Directors
· Mark Humphrey
· Ryan Stowers
· Todd Zywicki
Website: www.billofrightsinstitute.org

The Bill of Rights Institute (BRI) is a nonprofit educational organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that develops educational resources on American history and government, provides professional development opportunities to teachers, and runs student programs and scholarship contests. It has been described as promoting a conservative view of the United States Constitution.

History

BRI was founded in September 1999 by industrialist Charles Koch and the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. BRI's first president, Victoria Hughes, was a teacher who had also held a number of executive roles in other non-profit organizations. Hughes led the organization for a decade until her departure, after which Tony Woodlief filled her position as president. David Bobb, a former Hillsdale College professor and head of its Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship, became BRI's president in December 2013.

{snip}

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. To ME, it seems as though "someone" was just itching to file a lawsuit.

I hope it blows up in their faces.

[hlthe2b]

2. Back to the school uniforms debate, I suppose

But, honestly. Would any of us want our kids sent to school with half the class wearing MAGA hats and waving Trump flags while they set up their desks as altars to the 2nd Amendment, complete with AR15 'replicas' (we hope)? Or even just wearing the MAGA hats?

[old as dirt]

5. Wasn't much fun back in 2016.

Lots of children were being bullied. A friend of ours was in tears, and didn't know what to do when some of his son's classmates kept threatening to kick him out of the country.

Trump bullied his way into power, in part by weaponizing the children of his followers.

Perry Basketball Players Targeted By Degrading ‘Trump’ Chants

PERRY, Iowa — Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s name is still being chanted long after the Iowa Caucuses, but some are using his name to degrade a diverse school’s basketball team.

Perry High School bucks the trend of what is typically found in a rural Iowa setting.

“We are really more of an urban school in a rural setting. Here at the high school, we are 48 percent minority,” said Perry High School Principal Dan Marburger.

They embrace that diversity and it shows on the basketball court with players of Latino, Native American and African American heritage.

“It’s all about who you are as a person and that’s what is great about a small town like Perry,” said head basketball coach Ned Menke.

But that diversity isn’t being celebrated by everyone.

At Monday night’s game against Dallas Center-Grimes, opposing fans used Trump’s disdain for illegal immigrants to target several players of Latino descent.

“We are all aware of racism, it’s alive and well in small portions but it’s alive and well and it’s just hurtful to see that’s what they resort to,” said Kevin Lopez, Perry Student Section Leader.

Chants like “Trump, Trump, Trump” and “USA” were said.

According to players, chants like, “Trump, Trump, Trump,” were said and they were trying to intimidate Perry players by reciting things Trump has said about what he plans to do with immigrants and their children if he is elected.

It’s cut the community and players like senior Shammond Ivory deep.

“It’s honestly disrespectful. That’s how I take it. I hear it during the game, on and off the court. Everywhere I go,” Ivory said.

It’s been a constant almost all season for Perry.

“We had an Instagram issue two weeks ago with a conference school, and I’ll say the school administrators took care of it very well,” Marburger said.

But the Blue Jays have found a way to turn the other cheek and turn it into motivation.

“As soon as I hear something like that, it just triggers me and it makes me strive for more and to do it for my team, coaches and my community,” Ivory said.

A checklist of sportsmanship traits immediately greets all those that walk into the Perry gymnasium. They hope opposing teams follow suit, and if they don’t, players hope their game on the court can change their hearts and minds about race.

“It’s not about color. We are all equal,” Ivory said.

Dallas Center-Grimes Activities Steve Watson confirmed the chants at Monday night’s game and said the issue has been addressed at the school. He declined to comment on whether or not any students were disciplined.

Last Monday, Perry Coach Ned Menke was given the Iowa High School Association’s Character Counts Coach of The Year award.

https://who13.com/news/perry-basketball-players-targeted-by-degrading-trump-chants/v

[keithbvadu2]

4. AR-15 style rifle... the majority/plurality preferred weapon of choice for killing schoolchildren.

AR-15 style rifle... the majority/plurality preferred weapon of choice for killing schoolchildren.