Heather Gillman walks out of US District Court in Panama City, Fla. Tuesday. A judge ruled that her school violated her First Amendment rights. (Photo courtesy ACLU)
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By JUAN CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Holmes County School District violated students’ First Amendment rights when a high school principal banned students from wearing pro-gay symbols such as rainbow flags and slogans.
US District Court Judge Richard Smoak ordered David Davis, the principal of Ponce De Leon High School, to stop the unconstitutional censorship of students who wanted to express their support for equal rights for gay people. He also warned school officials against retaliating against students in the wake of the lawsuit.
The suit was filed in January by Heather Gillman, a 17-year-old heterosexual junior who spoke out when her cousin, an open lesbian, was harassed and subsequently suspended by Davis. Gillman was represented by attorneys from national and Florida branches of the ACLU .
During six hours of testimony, Davis argued that pro-gay symbols such as rainbow stickers and t-shirts with pro-equality messages were sexually suggestive and prevented students from studying because they conjure images of gay sex acts in young minds.
“To say that [a t-shirt that says] ‘God loves me just the way I am’ – to find a sexual connotation in that,” Judge Smoak said in his ruling. “I think that just can’t be made.”
The packed courtroom erupted into laughter Monday when Davis, an Evangelical Christian, said that displaying rainbow colors could lead to teen pregnancy. Judge Smoak interrupted to remind Davis that gay people don’t procreate with each other.
“I find that the core message here is that of tolerance and fairness,” Smoak said in his ruling. “And that the issue of sexual preference is really not the thrust of the argument.”
During the two-day trial Gillman and her cousin, who as not identified in the suit, described an atmosphere of intimidation and harassment that they faced by students and administrators for writing “Gay Pride” on their arms or wearing rainbow colors. Gillman’s cousin broke down in tears on the witness stand Monday when she told about her experience being harassed by peers and then punished by Davis for speaking out.
Gillman said she was pleased with the ruling.
“Standing up to my school was really hard to do,” she said. “But I’m so happy that I did it because the First Amendment is a big deal to everyone.”
On Wednesday she she wore a homemade t-shirt on which she wrote in blue Sharpee the words “Gay? Fine By Me.”
“It made me really excited and happy so that I can wear my t-shirt,” she said.
Ponce De Leon is a small lower-middle class farming town about 20 miles from the Alabama border in Florida’s panhandle. Residents describe it as a Bible Belt town where outsiders are often ostracized. At nearby Bay High School, tensions grew in 2006 when students were harassed for not participating in daily prayers circles sponsored by Christian student organizations around the flag pole. Students at other area schools have reported trouble finding teacher sponsors to form Gay Straight Alliances.
Brian Winfield, communications director of Equality Florida, said the situation at Ponce De Leon was a “shining example” of the need for anti-bully legislation like the one passed by the Florida Legislature this session.
“We knew for years that schools like this were turning a blind eye to the harassment and even violence against gay and lesbian students,” Winfield said.
This summer Gillman plans to find a part- time job and prepare for a trip to Washington. Since bringing the suit forward, she said she changed her plans from becoming a flight attendant to going to college when she graduates.
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