Hannah Bradley said a school official told her the tags were a distraction.-
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DANDRIDGE (WATE) - The
Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) sent a letter Thursday to Jefferson County High
School administrators in response to a conflict over gay rights name tags.
In the letter, the group threatens to sue the school district if officials on behalf of a student who claims she was forced to
remove a name tag she wore to raise awareness of anti-gay
bullying.
Hannah Bradley, a senior at the high school, and other students
wore small name tags stating their orientation on Oct. 11 to protest anti-gay
bullying in observance of National Coming Out Day.
"Students like Hannah
who are courageous enough to take a stand against bullying deserve the school's
support – not censorship and condemnation," said Alesdair Ittelson, an SPLC
staff attorney. "Displays of heterosexual orientation are ubiquitous; it is
impermissible for school authorities to censor or shame non-heterosexual
students for simply declaring who they
are."
The letter, which was
also sent to the county's director of schools, warns that if school officials
don't take meaningful action to stop censoring students, the SPLC will
file a federal lawsuit on Bradley's behalf.
