gay rights

New York court rules falsely calling someone ‘gay’ no longer defamatory

A New York appeals court decided that a upper New York state man could not sue for defamation after someone called him gay. The court argued that the history of legal precedents on the act was based on the assumption that it was a disgrace to be described as gay which is now no longer the case. -db From the New York Post, May 31, 2012, by Dareh Gregorian. Full story    

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Gay student in Ohio gains right to wear ‘Jesus Is Not A Homophobe’ T-shirt in school

A federal court lowered the boom on the Wayne Local School District in Ohio, ordering them to pay $20,000 in damages to a gay student for banning his T-shirt “Jesus Is Not A Homophobe.” In banning the T-shirt, the principal told the student that the “T-shirt had to do with religion and religion and state have to be separate,” and the T-shirt was “disrupting the educational process.” -db From the Cincinnati CityBeat, May 22, 2012,

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Student body president claims he was dismissed for attempts to allow right to same-sex couple

A student body present of a Georgia high school claims the school administration sacked him for asking the student council to change “Prom King and Queen” to “Prom Court” to allow the possibility of the election of a same-sex couple. The student is suing the school for violating his free speech rights and for prior restraint. -db From the Courthouse News Service, March 22, 2012, by Rose Bouboushian. Full story  

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Colorado high school yearbook adviser censors photo of lesbian couple

The Palmer High School yearbook adviser lifted a photograph of a lesbian couple from the yearbook layout on the grounds that the photo was “morally offensive” according to the student editor. Colorado state law gives students wide editorial discretion, but the district rationalized the censorship on the grounds that public displays of affection were against school policy and that the adviser was responsible for seeing that the publication furthered the school’s education mission. -db From

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Gay police officer loses right to make First Amendment case after he was hounded out of the department

A gay police officer who alleged that St. Cloud Police Department refused to allow him his First Amendment rights to work in the Twin Cities Pride Festival even if he used his vacation time lost a bid in federal court on the First Amendment claim. The court did say there was sufficient evidence to pursue an equal protection claim. -db From the First Amendment Center, January 30, 2012, by David L. Hudson Jr. Full story

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