The Holmes County School Board must end its unconstitutional ban on students’ right to free speech, Federal Judge Richard Smoak of the Northern District of Florida has ruled.

Smoak has ordered the district to immediately allow students to wear clothing, buttons, stickers or symbols in support of equal rights for homosexual citizens. Here’s a telling comment from his ruling:

While many society, perhaps the Holmes County community disagree with the plaintiff, but I hope they will keep in intellect that that is one of the most fundamental constitutional rights, that of the freedom of speech, and that we are not making up the law today. that law has been enlarged settled by the United States Supreme Court for nearly 50 years.

According to the ACLU’s history of the hearing, Ponce de Leon High School principal

David Davis “testified that he believed rainbows were ’sexually suggestive’ and would prepare students unable to study considering they’d be picturing homosexual sex acts in their intellect. The principal went on to confess that while censoring rainbows and homosexual pride messages he allowed students to wear other symbols many find controversial, such as the accomplice flag.”

Plaintiff Heather Gillman (shown above), a junior at Ponce de Leon High, has fought with the school by the issue, with the ACLU on her side. “Standing up to my school was really tough to do,” she said in a press release, “but I’m so happy that I did considering the First Amendment is a big deal to everyone.” For more on Gillman’s case, see the ACLU web site here. (Photo from Defuniak Springs Herald Breeze)

Original post by Jeff Solochek