Federal Court Rules Kids Cannot Wear American Flag T-Shirts At School During Cinco De Mayo., page 1

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Officials at a Northern California high school acted appropriately when they ordered students wearing American flag T-shirts to turn the garments inside out during the Mexican heritage celebration Cinco de Mayo, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the officials' concerns of racial violence outweighed students' freedom of expression rights. Administrators feared the American-flag shirts would enflame the passions of Latino students celebrating the Mexican holiday. Live Oak High School, in the San Jose suburb of Morgan Hill, had a history of problems between white and Latino students on that day.

The unanimous three-judge panel said past problems gave school officials sufficient and justifiable reasons for their actions. The court said schools have wide latitude in curbing certain civil rights to ensure campus safety.

"Our role is not to second-guess the decision to have a Cinco de Mayo celebration or the precautions put in place to avoid violence," Judge M. Margaret McKeown wrote for the panel. The past events "made it reasonable for school officials to proceed as though the threat of a potentially violent disturbance was real," she wrote.

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I find this to be a disgrace to every single American. We fight in wars so that flag can be flown and treated with pride. This is an atrocity that one ethnic/racial group . . whatever you want to call it, can support their own, but we can't show pride for our country, while BEING IN OUR COUNTRY.

They should either go with a dress code, or everyone wear what they want and no rules. I would wear my American Flag shirt regardless what they said and I know my friends would, too.

edit on 3/1/2014 by OptimusCrime because: (no reason given)