A 12-year-old middle school student has made national headlines after being asked to leave school for wearing a t-shirt that says “There are only two genders.” Liam Morrison from Massachusetts was forced to leave school after staff said that the shirt was making people feel “unsafe.”
Morrison is in the seventh grade at Nichols Middle School in Middleborough, Massachusetts. Morrison made an appearance in front of this hometown school board following his dismissal in a clip that has now been circulated by the widely popular Libs of TikTok Twitter account.
Liam Morrison summarized his conflict with teachers that day by saying, “Yes, words on a shirt made people feel unsafe. They told me that I wasn’t in trouble, but it sure felt like I was. I was told that I would need to remove my shirt before I could return to class. When I nicely told them that I didn’t want to do that, they called my father. Thankfully, my dad, supportive of my decisions, came to pick me up. 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.”
A 12-year-old in @MiddleboroughPS was allegedly sent home from school and told he’s making people feel unsafe for wearing a shirt that said “there are only 2 genders.”
Watch him destroy the school board 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hCBO5wXIgh
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 30, 2023
Morrison’s shirt was deemed by administrators to be “disruptive to learning.” He explained that he was told that his shirt was “targeting a protected class,” which is why it was so necessary to have it removed. Morrison continued:
“I don’t complain when I see Pride flags and diversity posters hung throughout the school. Do you know why? Because others have a right to their beliefs, just as I do.”
“I was told that the shirt was a disruption to learning. No one got up and stormed out of class. No one burst into tears. I’m sure I would have noticed if they had. I experience disruptions to my learning every day. Kids acting out in class are a disruption, yet nothing is done. Why do the rules apply to one yet not another?”
He wasn’t done there, the incredibly well-spoken young man continued piling on about the ridiculousness surrounding his dismissal from school, saying the following according to a transcript provided by Fox News:
“I have learned a lot from this experience. I learned that a lot of other students share my view. I learned that adults don’t always do the right thing or make the right decisions. I know that I have a 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.”
“My hope in being here tonight is to bring the School Committee’s attention to this issue. I hope that you will speak up for the rest of us, so we can express ourselves without being pulled out of class. Next time, it may not only be me. There might be more soon that decide to speak out.”
The featured image is a screenshot from an embedded Twitter video.
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