Court upholds District 204 students’ right to wear anti-gay T-shirt

The U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a ruling that stated students at Neuqua Valley High School should have been allowed to wear a T-shirt with the words “Be Happy, Not Gay.”

The 7th Circuit Court’s ruling follows a 2006 lawsuit by Heidi Zamecnik, a student at Neuqua Valley at the time, filed against the school district after the school blacked out the words “Not Gay” on her T-shirt. Zamecnik wore the shirt the day after a “Day of Silence,” which was intended to draw attention to harassment of homosexuals.

The front of her shirt read, “My Day of Silence” with the back reading “Be Happy, Not Gay.”

The court’s decision against the Indian Prairie School District 204 stated that if the school could not prove the shirt would cause a “substantial disruption,” it was wrong in crossing off the words “Not Gay.”

The court said those facts proving disruption could have been a decline in students’ test scores or an upsurge in truancy.

Alex Nuxoll, a second student at Neuqua Valley High School, wanted to wear the shirt, but was denied twice by the court when he filed an injunction to suspend the school’s policy against the T-shirt.

The 7th Circuit Court reversed the denials in 2008.

Tuesday’s ruling upholds a 2010 summary judgment decision issued by the district court in favor of Nuxoll and Zamecnik.