Middleboro student appeals free speech T-shirt case to U.S. Supreme Court. What to know

Christopher Butler

The Enterprise

MIDDLEBORO — Liam Morrison — a Middleboro student who unsuccessfully sued the town for allegedly violating his First Amendment right to free speech — is appealing his "two genders" T-shirt case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the spring of 2023, Morrison wore a T-shirt to Nichols Middle School that read "there are only two genders," and his principal sent him home twice after he refused to change the shirt, which the principal said made some of his classmates unsafe.

The middle schooler and his family filed a lawsuit against the town, claiming that the school violated his First Amendment right to freedom of speech. This June, more than a year after the incident, the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled against Morrison.

Now, Morrison will appeal the case of L.M. vs. Town of Middleborough to the U.S. Supreme Court, his lawyers announced Wednesday.

“This case isn’t about T-shirts; it’s about a public school telling a middle-schooler that he isn’t allowed to express a view that differs from their own," said David Cortman, senior counsel for the Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is representing Morrison.

What do Middleboro schools say?

Middleboro Superintendent Carolyn Lyons and multiple school committee members did not immediately respond to The Enterprise's request for comment.

Morrison's 'two genders' T-shirt

In March 2023, Morrison was sent home for refusing to remove his T-shirt, sparking major controversy across the school district and across the nation. He wore the shirt to school a second time, but covered part of the shirt with tape so it read "there are 'censored' genders." The principal sent him home again.

Morrison, who is represented in the lawsuit by ADF and endorsed by the Massachusetts Family Institute, said the school banned him expressing his personal beliefs on the issue of gender identity even though the school had openly celebrated Pride month with flags and posters.

School officials said that his shirt violated the school's dress code, which bans clothing that could cause harm or damage to a "protected class of students" — kids who identify as transgender and are particularly at risk of bullying and suicide.

But Morrison said he believes that, as his shirt says, "there are only two genders," and school staff violated his right to free speech and freedom of expression by banning him from wearing the T-shirt.

"The school actively promotes its view about gender through posters and ‘Pride’ events, and it encourages students to wear clothing with messages on the same topic — so long as that clothing expresses the school’s preferred views on the subject," Cortman said in a press release on Wednesday, Oct. 9, announcing the Supreme Court appeal.

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