"Bong hits 4 Jesus"
An odd tale from the US: The Supreme Court will be considering a case involving high school pupils in Alaska who unfurled a 14' banner with that motto, only to have it torn down by an irate principal. The architect of the stunt got suspended for 10 days, and surprise surprise, lawyers got involved.
The lining up of pressure groups in favour and against the school has proved fairly predicatable, but sundry religious lobbying groups have come out for the student, fearing that First Amendment rights (Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.) are being imperilled.
As the Chicago Tribune reports, "[the] Liberty Legal Institute, a non-profit law firm "dedicated to the preservation of 1st Amendment rights and religious freedom" ...told the justices in its brief that it was "gravely concerned that the religious freedom of students in public schools will be damaged" if the court rules for the school board".
Further details when I see them.
The lining up of pressure groups in favour and against the school has proved fairly predicatable, but sundry religious lobbying groups have come out for the student, fearing that First Amendment rights (Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.) are being imperilled.
As the Chicago Tribune reports, "[the] Liberty Legal Institute, a non-profit law firm "dedicated to the preservation of 1st Amendment rights and religious freedom" ...told the justices in its brief that it was "gravely concerned that the religious freedom of students in public schools will be damaged" if the court rules for the school board".
Further details when I see them.
Labels: Law and order, United States
This entry was posted
on Monday, March 19, 2007 at 8:54 am.
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I don't think full rights should extend to children under 18 because teens are notoriously unable to make sensible decisions. One only has to look at how they dress and cut their hair.
However, over the age of 18, they should be able to put up any signs they want to put up - although possibly not on school property, if the school as specific rules.
We don't want to take a leaf out of the islamics' book and start having laws about "insulting" religion.
Actually, the school principal shouldn't have bothered because high school kids will do anything to look interesting.
Any chance of a translation?
Verity - Yup, I'd go along with that.
TG - Seems to have been an exercise in grabbing attention, of about the same level of sophistication of those 'I like the Pope, the Pope smokes dope' t-shirts of yore. A bong is a type of dope pipe, by the way.
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