I don’t know how, on the same day that the SCOTUS gave McCain-Feingold a swift kick in the nuts, these same learned individuals could do something this stupid.
Student loses ruling over “Bong Hits 4 Jesus”
A divided Supreme Court on Monday curtailed free-speech rights for students, ruling against a teenager who unfurled a banner saying “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” because the message could be interpreted as promoting drug use.
In its first major decision on student free-speech rights in nearly 20 years, the high court’s conservative majority ruled that a high school principal did not violate the student’s rights by confiscating the banner and suspending him.
Well, then High Times magazine had better watch out, because I can guaran-fuckin-tee you that they are absolutely promoting drug use. Granted, they aren’t students. Or if they are, they’re studying “Dude what was I talking about agan?”.
Was the kids tokin’ up? Uhh, no. Was he selling “drug paraphernalia”?. Not at all. He wasn’t even displaying it on his banner.
This is like some jackass school administrator sending a kid home for wearing an AC/DC t-shirt because the twisted admin-tweaker thinks it stands for “Anti Christ/Devil’s Child” or some shit.
For a SCOTUS who can knock ’em out of the park most days, they can also try for a bunt and end up sending the ball into their own crotch.
Isn’t a school campus different than a public setting? Would any student be entitled to call out in class whenever they wanted and be exercising free speech? I don’t think “bong hits 4 jesus” is a big deal overall, it seems like schools need to maintain control, and a lot of their policies restrict students’ behavior beyond what limits the law sets for behavior in public.
In a lot of public schools, religious speech or papers about faith are pretty well banned (unless your faith is “Diverse”) as well.
My only rebuttal point to that would be that the kid was across the street from the school with his banner, not physically on the property.
I would think that the school had no authority to control him other than to drop a truancy charge on his head.
Oh, then that is stupid. I thought he was in school. If he wasn’t on school property, we’re in agreement.