Judge Condones Anti-Gay T-Shirt

The final appeal for a Neuqua Valley High School student (and anti-gay protester) who wants to express his sentiments on homosexuality by wearing a “Be Happy, Not Gay” T-shirt to class has won his case on second appeal. If it was anti faith, creed, colour, or depicted a celebrity (without a license) he’d be forking out on the court fees right now.

Whatever your personal beliefs you have to err on the side of caution when a ruling judge can accept anti-gay t-shirts but not pro-gay tees. The point is you really can’t choose one and not the other, that wouldn’t be impartial, which I think is the whole problem here. I’m surprised at the location, maybe I’ve got it all wrong, but Chicago, Chicago House Music? House Music is part of the staple diet of music at any gay club on the Western Hemisphere, but besides that, isn’t homosexuality legal there?

The really spiteful thing about all this is that the court’s ruling came two days before the annual Day of Silence, a time whereby all participating students stay silent for the day - if they speak they lose their grades. Sponsored by the school’s Gay/Straight Alliance, the Day of Silence, students often wear written messages on shirts, buttons and stickers showing their support of peers who are gay.

The case arose two years ago, when Zamecnik, then a junior at Neuqua, decided to wear her own, homemade T-shirt expressing her sentiments on homosexuality. She wore it the day after the Day of Silence, which some call the Day of Truth.

The shirt said “My Day of Silence, Straight Alliance” on the front and “Be Happy, Not Gay” on the back.