Ban on anti-gay T-shirt upheld

SAN FRANCISCO, April 20 (UPI) -- A U.S. appeals court has ruled that a San Diego-area high school can ban the wearing of T-shirts with anti-homosexual slogans.

In a 2-1 decision, the 9th Circuit panel in San Francisco upheld Poway High School's ban on a shirt worn by student Tyler Harper. On the front, the shirt read: "Be Ashamed, Our School Embraced What God Has Condemned." One the back, it read: "Homosexuality Is Shameful."

"Public school students who may be injured by verbal assaults on the basis of a core identifying characteristic such as race, religion, or sexual orientation have a right to be free from such attacks while on school campuses," Judge Stephen Reinhardt said in the majority opinion.

Judge Alex Kozinski, who dissented, called the case "difficult and troubling." But he suggested that students dealt with Harper's T-shirt by discussing it without physical violence and possibly learned an important lesson on dealing with people who hold opposing views.

Harper wore the shirt to school to protest a "Day of Silence" intended to teach tolerance. He demanded to be suspended after officials objected to his shirt but was instead kept in the principal's office for the rest of the day.