Last week it was reported that a freshman at Western Hills High School in Ft. Worth, TX was disciplined be he exercised free speech and said he believe homosexuality is wrong.
During a discussion in his German class at Western hills High School on Tuesday, freshman Dakota Ary said he commented to a friend that his religious beliefs say homosexuality is wrong.
"I said, ‘I’m Christian and, to me, being homosexual is wrong,’" Ary said. "And then he (the teacher) got mad, wrote me an infraction and sent me to the office."
Religions, the Bible and religious views in Germany had come up in the class. According to the discipline referral form filled out by the teacher, the teacher was telling students how to say religion and Christianity. Ary asked about a question about Bibles in different countries and what language they are in.
On the referral form, Ary is quoted as saying "no gays allowed in Christianity." The form says the comment was unprovoked and out of context. The final sentence of the explanation on the referral reads, "It is wrong to make such a statement in public school."
Apparently the teacher isn’t aware of the First Amendment, and that the U.S. Supreme Court in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District affirmed that a student didn’t shed his free speech rights when they pass through the school doors. Beyond this however there is a perception that “private” religious speech or belief has no business being articulated in a “public” school, especially when that view has been determined not to be politically correct.
Dakota Ary receiving two days of in-school suspension is evidence that we need to reaffirm our religious liberty and protect religious conscience at the state level.
