A federal magistrate ruled that Liam Morrison, 12, was unable to exercise his right to free expression on a T-shirt while attending a Massachusetts public school.

“School administrators were well within their discretion to conclude that the statement ‘THERE ARE ONLY TWO GENDERS’ may communicate that only two gender identities—male and female—are valid, and any other are invalid or nonexistent,” concluded Judge Indira Talwani in a decision on June 16.

The Obama appointee then supported the Middleborough, Massachusetts school’s claim that the message on Morrison’s T-shirt—a biological fact—constituted an attack on the identities of other pupils. response.

The 12-year-old boy “went off on school board members after his school sent him home because he refused to change his T-shirt.”

On May 5, 2023, Morrison wore the same T-shirt, but this time the words “ONLY TWO” were covered with a piece of tape that read “CENSORED.” This was an endeavor to circumvent the law. Once again, the school determined that he had harassed a “protected class.”

Liam Morrison’s father and stepmother filed a complaint on his behalf against the school district, Carolyn Lyons, and Heather Tucker, the principal of Nichols Middle School, when they were unable to find a satisfactory administrative solution.

According to the lawsuit, Nichols Middle School frequently “observes events like ‘Pride Month,’ and ‘Pride Day,’ in support of the ‘LGBT+ community.’” It also alleged “violations of his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.”

In her decision, Judge Talwani stated that “the original message of the Shirt was not protected speech” and went on to state that “the Taped Shirt did not merely protest censorship but conveyed the ‘censored’ message and thus invaded the rights of the other students.”

Despite the fact that several students began donning identical shirts in an apparent show of support for Morrison, Judge Talwani determined that injunctive relief “is not in the public interest.”

Defendants, on the other hand, “point to statutes passed by the Massachusetts Legislature prohibiting discrimination, bullying, or harassment in schools based on gender identity or expression, as well as directives from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requiring that schools provide a safe environment to progress academically and developmentally regardless of gender identity,” Talwani explained.

Liam Morrison and his family may pursue additional legal action, but the message from Judge Talwani is clear: the First Amendment only applies when the state authorizes speech.