Student Dakota Ary has sought
representation after he was suspended for saying homosexuality is
wrong.
According to the Dallas-Fort
Worth Fox News affiliate, the 14-year-old boy was given an
in-school suspension for telling a friend during a German class that
he was a Christian and “being a homosexual is wrong.”
“It wasn't directed to anyone except
my friend who was sitting behind me,” Ary said. “I guess [the
teacher] heard me. He started yelling. He told me he was going to
write me an infraction and send me to the office.”
Ary was given a one day in-school
suspension and two days of full suspension, which were later reduced
to 1 day.
Holly Pope, Ary's mother, contacted
Liberty Counsel, whose lawyer, Matt Krause, sat in on a meeting with
officials from Western Hills High School.
“I told the school that he should
never have been suspended for exercising his constitutional rights,”
Krause said. “The principal is sincere in trying to do the right
thing and hopefully they will tell the teacher, 'Do not do that
anymore.' He won't be pushing his agenda.” (The video is embedded
in the right panel of this page.)
In a press release, the Christian law
firm threatened to sue the school.
“Liberty Counsel is representing
Dakota in this case, demanding full vindication and a full retraction
of the suspension. If the school board does not comply, a lawsuit
will be filed for violation of Dakota's first Amendment rights.”
“The double standard advocated by
homosexual activists is mind boggling,” said Harry Mihet, senior
litigation counsel for Liberty Counsel. “This teacher in Texas is
actually bullying his students into accepting the homosexual
lifestyle inside the class, and yet it is his student, not him, that
gets suspended. We will vigorously defend and restore Dakota's
constitutional rights.”