Defiant 7th-grader sent home for 'There Are Only Two Genders' T-shirt wears it to school again — with 'censored' on it. He's told to remove shirt; now he's suing.

After seventh-grader Liam Morrison was sent home from his Massachusetts school in March for wearing a "There Are Only Two Genders" T-shirt — and later gave the school board an earful about it — he defiantly wore the shirt to school again last Friday.

The kid adds a little plot twist

Only this time, the plucky 12-year-old's shirt included the word "Censored" over part of the verboten slogan.

Image source: Massachusetts Family Institute

It wouldn't be a surprise if Liam's in-your-face trolling made blood boil among staff at Middleborough's Nichols Middle School. Indeed, he was told to remove the shirt.

He did so — but a law firm representing Liam said he's now suing.

"At this point, Liam and his parents have decided to take legal action because we believe this is a clear violation of his First Amendment rights. So, we're in the process of getting ready to file a lawsuit against the school," Sam Whiting of the Massachusetts Family Institute told the Enterprise.

The Enterprise said several members of the Middleborough School Committee, as well as Superintendent Carolyn Lyons, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the matter.

What's the background?

Whiting told the Enterprise that the school said the message on Liam's T-shirt is tantamount to bullying and harassment and that staff told the seventh-grader it targets a "protected class" of students.

The paper added that the district's dress code says “clothing must not state, imply, or depict hate speech or imagery that target groups based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, or any other classification.”

Whiting in a demand letter said the school's acting principal Heather Tucker indicated to Liam's father that amid the March dust-up, "several" staff members and students complained about his son's T-shirt "but did not cite a particular number" and "did not give any examples of disruptions or potential disruptions that the shirt had caused or was likely to cause."

In fact, Liam told the school board last month that no students or staff told him they were bothered by what he was wearing — and some students even said they supported him and wanted a similar T-shirt.

What's more, Liam added to the board that he didn't complain about diversity posters and pride flags in the school "because others have rights to their beliefs just as I do."

'It's not necessarily free speech'

Andy Pollock, president of the South Coast LGBTQ+ Network, told the Enterprise in regard to Liam's case that "there's one thing about free speech, but there's also the statistic for trans students or trans youth where they have a much higher rate of suicide ideation."

He added to the paper, "If it marginalizes and denigrates a certain population in the school, why shouldn't the student be sent home? If it makes someone more vulnerable to bullying, especially in populations that are marginalized, it's not necessarily free speech."

Here's a clip of Morrison speaking to the school board:

Middleborough Public Schools: School Committee Meeting - April 13, 2023youtu.be

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