{"id":15897,"date":"2025-11-21T21:00:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T21:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=15897"},"modified":"2025-11-21T21:00:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T21:00:37","slug":"the-u-s-supreme-court-refused-to-hear-the-appeal-of-a-massachusetts-middle-schooler-who-was-barred-from-wearing-a-t-shirt-reading-there-are-only-two-genders-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=15897","title":{"rendered":"The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of a Massachusetts middle-schooler who was barred from wearing a T-shirt reading \u201cThere are only two genders."},"content":{"rendered":"

In May 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from a Massachusetts middle school student, Liam Morrison<\/strong>, who challenged his school district\u2019s decision to ban him from wearing a T-shirt stating \u201cThere are only two genders.\u201d<\/em> By refusing review, the Court allowed a lower court ruling to stand \u2014 namely, the decision of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which had upheld the school’s dress-code restriction. Importantly, Justices Samuel Alito<\/strong> and Clarence Thomas<\/strong> dissented from the Court\u2019s decision not to take the case, signaling that they believed the issue raised important First Amendment questions.<\/p>\n

The case began in 2023 when Liam, then a seventh-grader at Nichols Middle School<\/strong> in Middleborough, wore the shirt to school. \u00a0School administrators told him to remove it, citing complaints from other students. He refused and left for the day. Later, he wore a modified version of the shirt, covering the phrase \u201conly two\u201d with tape labeled \u201cCENSORED,\u201d but was again asked to change.<\/p>\n

Liam\u2019s legal team, led by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)<\/strong>, argued that the shirt expressed his sincerely held belief equating gender with biological sex. \u00a0They contended that the school was engaging in viewpoint discrimination by allowing pro-gender-diversity messages (for instance, Pride Month displays) but suppressing his opposing viewpoint. \u00a0According to his attorneys, this was not a personal attack, but a political or philosophical statement deserving protection under the First Amendment.<\/p>\n

On the other side, the school district defended its decision by citing student well-being<\/strong>. In court, officials described serious mental-health challenges among transgender and gender-nonconforming students, including histories of suicidal ideation. According to the appeals court\u2019s ruling, administrators reasonably \u201cforecast\u201d that the message on Liam\u2019s shirt could negatively affect these students\u2019 ability to focus and participate in class.<\/p>\n

In its ruling, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the school\u2019s actions, citing the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines<\/em> standard that schools can restrict student speech that may substantially disrupt the educational environment. Chief Judge David J. Barron, writing for the panel, emphasized that the school\u2019s concern was not abstract \u2014 administrators knew of the serious emotional distress among some students and judged that the shirt could exacerbate that harm.<\/p>\n

When the Supreme Court declined to take the case, Alito, joined by Thomas, issued a dissent warning that the decision sends a dangerous message: schools might suppress viewpoints they disfavor under the guise of protecting student sensitivities. Alito argued that if schools teach about gender identity and LGBTQ+ issues, they should also tolerate dissenting opinions, even those some find offensive. Their dissent raises broader questions about the boundaries of student free speech in an era where gender-identity issues are deeply contentious and politically fraught.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In May 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from a Massachusetts middle school student, Liam Morrison, who challenged his school district\u2019s decision to… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15898,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of a Massachusetts middle-schooler who was barred from wearing a T-shirt reading \u201cThere are only two genders. - magazine24<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/negatius.biz\/?p=15897\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal of a Massachusetts middle-schooler who was barred from wearing a T-shirt reading \u201cThere are only two genders. - 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