Gay student Maverick Couch may wear for
one day a t-shirt designed to urge tolerance for the gay community.
Sixteen-year-old Couch is suing
Waynesville High School and the Wayne Local School District in Ohio
for the right to wear the shirt which says Jesus Is Not A Homophobe.
The Dayton
Daily News reported that lawyers for the district agreed on
Wednesday to allow Couch to wear the shirt on the April 20 Day of
Silence, the annual national event meant to show solidarity with gay
students, pending a final decision in the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Principal
Randy Gebhardt forced Couch to turn the shirt inside out during last
year's Day of Silence. Gebhardt also threatened disciplinary action
if Couch wore the shirt to school again. Couch is represented by
Lambda
Legal in the suit.
“We're glad that Maverick is able to
wear his shirt on April 20th,” Christopher Clark, a
Lambda Legal lawyer, said in a statement. “However, a student's
First Amendment rights are not restricted to one day of the year. We
will continue to fight …”
District officials labeled the shirt
“indecent and inappropriate” because it was “sexual in nature.”