The Supreme Court has declined to take up the case involving a young student from Massachusetts who was banned from school after wearing a shirt that read “there are only two genders.”
The case was brought forward on behalf of Liam Morrison by his father and stepmother. It argued that Nichols Middle School violated his First Amendment rights by punishing him for expressing his opinion. The incident took place in 2023 when Morrison refused to take off his shirt and was sent home. He later returned to school wearing the same shirt, but with the words “only two” covered with tape labeled “censored.” School officials again ordered him to remove it.
The school claimed the shirt made other students feel unsafe, a position that was backed by a federal court. In June 2024, an appeals court sided with the school, ruling that it was justified in requiring Morrison to remove the shirt and sending him home when he refused.
In an interview with Fox News at the time of the original incident, Morrison said the shirt was not meant to attack anyone.
“I’m just voicing my opinion about a statement that I believe to be true,” Morrison said. “And I feel like some people may think that I’m imposing hate speech, even though it’s not directed towards anyone.”
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case, arguing that the Court should have taken it up.
“As this case makes clear, some lower courts are confused on how to manage the tension between students’ rights and schools’ obligations,” Alito wrote. “Our nation’s students, teachers and administrators deserve clarity on this critically important question.”
