A Middleborough 7th grader was told he couldn’t wear a shirt that read, ‘There are only two genders.’ Now it’s going to court.
Liam Morrison, a student at Nichols Middle School in Middleborough, wore a shirt with the words "There are only two genders" to school earlier this year. He was told to remove it, and a lawsuit ensued.
Lawyers representing a seventh-grade Middleborough student are asking that a court prevent the boy’s school from enforcing a ban on two shirts he wore to classes earlier this year. The shirts in question bore the messages “There are only two genders” and “There are censored genders.”
Liam Morrison, a student at Nichols Middle School, first decided to wear a shirt with “there are only two genders” written on it in March. Morrison was removed from his first class of the day and told that other students had complained about the shirt. The school’s acting principal said that Morrison could only return to class if he removed the shirt. Morrison refused, according to a complaint filed last month, and was sent home for the day.
The lawsuit was filed by Alliance Defending Freedom and the Massachusetts Family Institute on behalf of Morrison. Logan Spena, legal counsel for ADF, said that school officials are violating Morrison’s right to freedom of speech.
“This isn’t about a T-shirt; this is about a public school telling a seventh grader that he isn’t allowed to hold a view that differs from the school’s orthodoxy,” Spena said in a statement. “Public school officials can’t force Liam to remove a shirt that states his position when the school lets every other student wear clothing that speaks on the same issue. Their choice to double down and silence him when he tried to protest their censorship is a gross violation of the First Amendment that we’re urging the court to rectify.”
Middleborough Superintendent Carolyn Lyons’ office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
A hearing occurred Tuesday in Massachusetts District Court regarding a motion for a preliminary injunction. Morrison’s lawyers were asking the court to prevent school officials from enforcing their ban on the shirts.
A judge has not yet ruled on the motion for preliminary injunction, an ADF spokesperson said.
“Today’s hearing went well, and we are hopeful the First Amendment’s full protection will be extended to Liam, not just for his sake, but for all students,” Spena said in a statement to Boston.com.
Morrison, according to the complaint, believes that there are only two sexes and equates the word “gender” with “sex.” He believes that views promoted by school figures that do not align with these ideas on gender and sex are “false and harmful.”
Lawyers representing Morrison equated his shirts with signs that have been displayed in school buildings with messages like “Rise up to protect trans and GNC students” and “Proud friend/ally of LGBTQ+,” according to the complaint.
In early April, Morrison’s father sent an email to Lyons asking why his son had not been allowed to wear the first shirt, according to the complaint. Lyons replied a few days later with support for the principal’s decision.
“The content of [L.M.’s] shirt targeted students of a protected class; namely in the area of gender identity. While I cannot share the numbers or names of students and staff that complained about this shirt, I can assure you that there were several students and several staff who did,” Lyons wrote.
Morrison spoke at a Middleborough school committee in mid-April to defend his right to wear the shirt, and his lawyers contacted those of the defendants later in the month informing them that Morrison intended to wear his shirt again on May 5.
In a letter sent May 4, lawyers representing Middleborough school officials responded by saying that the district would continue to “prohibit the wearing of a t-shirt… which is likely to be considered discriminatory, harassing and/or bullying to others including those who are gender nonconforming by suggesting that their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression does not exist or is invalid,” according to the complaint.
In protest, Morrison wore a shirt with “There are censored genders” written on it on May 5 instead. He was immediately sent to the principal’s office, and agreed to wear a different shirt for the rest of the day because he did not want to miss another day of classes, according to the complaint.
He has not worn either shirt since May 5 out of fear of detention and possible suspension, according to the complaint. This fear of punishment “severely limits his constitutionally-protected expression” at school, his lawyers wrote.
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