May 22, 2012
Court: Gay Ohio Student May Wear T-shirt to School
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 1 MIN.
CINCINNATI (AP) - A gay student who sued his Ohio high school for prohibiting him from wearing a T-shirt designed to urge tolerance of gays will be allowed to wear the shirt to school whenever he chooses.
A judgment agreed to by Maverick Couch and the Waynesville Local School District was entered Monday in federal court in Cincinnati. It allows the teenager to wear the "Jesus Is Not A Homophobe" T-shirt and says the district must pay $20,000 in damages and court costs.
The lawsuit alleged that the district northeast of Cincinnati had violated Couch's freedom of expression rights.
The district did not immediately return calls Monday seeking comment.
Couch said the shirt is a statement of pride and he hopes other students now know they can feel pride, too.
