7th-grader sent home for wearing ‘there are only two genders’ T-shirt takes school officials to task

By: MICHELE BLOOD | May 01, 2023

Read more at https://www.theblaze.com/news/liam-morrison/

A middle school student who says he was sent home for wearing a T-shirt that said “there are only two genders,” bravely, brilliantly, and bluntly addressed the matter at a Middleborough Public Schools Committee meeting.

“I never thought that the shirt I wore to school … would lead me to speak with you today,” 12-year-old Liam Morrison said, having lowered the microphone to deliver his statement.

Young Liam is a seventh-grader at Nichols Middle School in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Fox News Digital reported.

Liam explained that he was taken out of gym class in March for what turned out to be a “very uncomfortable talk.” He said two adults told him the shirt he was wearing was making some people feel “unsafe” and that he would have to remove it to return to class.

The preteen said that though he was told he was not in trouble, it felt like he was.

When he said he did not want to remove his shirt, school officials called his father to pick him up, according to Liam’s account.

“Thankfully, my dad supported my decisions,” Liam said.

“What did my shirt say? Five simple words: There are only two genders. Nothing harmful, nothing threatening. Just a statement I believe to be a fact.”

Then Liam got to the heart of the matter, and the young, bespectacled gentleman held nothing back.

“I was told that my shirt was ‘targeting a protected class.’ Who is this protected class? Are their feelings more important than my rights?”

Liam said he didn’t complain when he saw diversity posters and pride flags in the school “because others have rights to their beliefs just as I do.”

Liam said no students or staff told him they were bothered by what he was wearing. To the contrary, he said. Some students said they supported him and wanted a similar T-shirt.

Despite being told his shirt was a “disruption to learning,” Liam said no one stormed out of class or burst into tears.

“I experience disruptions to my learning every day. Kids acting out in class are a disruption, yet nothing is done,” Liam said. “Why do rules apply to one but not another?”

“I feel like these adults were telling me it wasn’t OK for me to have an opposing view.“

“Their arguments were weak, in my opinion,” Liam said, briefly looking up from his papers, directing his gaze at the adults on stage.

“I have learned a lot in this experience. … I learned that adults don’t always do the right thing or make the right decisions.”

“I know I have the right to wear a shirt with those five words. Even at 12 years old, I have my own political opinions and I have a right to express those opinions, even at school. This right is called the First Amendment to the Constitution.”

“I hope you will speak up for the rest of us so we can express ourselves without being pulled out of class,” Liam concluded, thanking the committee for its time.

Watch 12-year-old Liam Morrison address the Middleborough Public Schools Committee meeting starting at 09:40 below.

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