Freedom entails having the ability to air one’s opinion at all times, form a legal gathering without fear of being harassed, and wear what you so desire. For some people, freedom is relative.
A high school student, Brielle Penkoski, from Tennessee, was sent home from school for wearing what was assumed to be inappropriate. On the black t-shirt that the student wore, “homosexuality is a sin” was boldly written on it in white letters.
Brielle felt she was expressing her beliefs. However, her freedom of expression got violated as she was sent home by her pro-LGBT school. This action by the public school, Livingston Academy, has gotten the attention of her father who is a pastor. Richard Penkoski, the father of Brielle and leader of Warriors For Christ, has stated that this act is the first attempt by the school to violate the amendment rights of her daughter.
Now, Penkoski has filed a lawsuit against the school. Identifying his child as “B.A.P.” in the lawsuit, Penkoski wrote that she was unwilling to cover up the shirt, so she contacted her father.
According to the New York Post, the principal then told Penkoski that his daughter’s t-shirt containing the word “homosexuality” counted as a sexual reference, which was against the school’s dress code.
In the lawsuit filed on October 16, Penkoski says that the school forced her to choose between “abandoning her religious beliefs” and sticking to those beliefs only to be disciplined for it, placing a substantial burden on the child that was in violation of her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
Penkoski also posted the image of his daughter from the day she wore the shirt, writing,
“My 15 year old was thrown out of school for the day for wearing this shirt. #lgbt wants to trample on your #freespeech rights while they cry for special rights.”
The tweet has garnered a fair amount of attention online, stirring up several online debates about religious freedom and the freedom of speech vs homosexuality.
“As someone who is open to LBTQ I find this extremely offensive. I’m agnostic so I don’t see the Bible as anything more than twisted and mixed up translations of texts that don’t even matter in this day and age. She was right to be sent home. That can cause harm to others. Bully!” writes one user.
“A) hate speech is not free speech B) scholars agree that the word used in the bible should be translated as pedophile, not homosexual. The church rewrote this to serve their homophobic agenda,” writes another user, who later adds, “I have been corrected. Disgusting hateful speech is still protected under 1st amendment. However, let me just point out: 1A does not protect you from the consequences of your speech, and schools are allowed to establish dress codes.”
It is unclear if Penkoski’s lawsuit against the school will go to court or if it will be dismissed out of hand.
Sources: AWM, New York Post