A 12-year-old student was reportedly sent home after he showed up at school wearing a shirt that read "there are only two genders."
Liam Morrison, a seventh-grader at John T. Nichols Jr. Middle School in Middleborough, Massachusetts, said he was pulled aside in gym class and asked to leave after he refused to change the controversial shirt.
The teen then claimed it is within his rights to wear a shirt with such a message and asked at a school meeting: "Are [others'] feelings more important than my rights?"
The school dress code prohibits clothing that implies hate speech or targets groups based on characteristics such as gender identity.
Middleborough Superintendent Carolyn Lyons spoke at a meeting and said debates among adults are now unfairly being brought into the classroom.
She said as a community they have failed to model what a productive conversation looks like for their children.
"What does my shirt say? There are only two genders. Nothing harmful, nothing threatening, just a statement I believe to be a fact," said Liam Morrison.
He added: "I have been told that my shirt was targeting a protected class. Who is this protected class? Are their feelings more important than my rights?"
The teen made a speech at a Middleborough School Committee meeting on April 13.
He argued that his t-shirt did not cause any disruption and that he had a right to free speech under the First Amendment.
The speech has gained attention on social media, and a Christian conservative non-profit has offered legal support to the youngster.
Liam was reportedly told that his shirt was making people feel unsafe, although he was not in trouble. The school reportedly asked him to remove the shirt, but Liam refused and his father was called.
Liam also argued that his shirt conveyed a fact and was not harmful or threatening.
He also questioned whether the feelings of a protected class were more important than his right to free speech.
Liam said his shirt caused no disruption in the classroom and that some students even expressed support for him.
Like-minded people took part in a protest outside the school on April 13, carrying signs reading: “There are only two genders’’ and “Keep woke politics out of our schools’’, according to reports.
The school's superintendent, Carolyn Lyons, responded by creating a Diversity, Inclusion and Equity task force.
The following day, a counter-protest appeared at the same location with signs reading “Support Trans Rights’’ and “Middleboro Loves You All.’’
Ms Lyons said that these issues should not involve the town's children. A police chief said both groups at the protests were peaceful.
