U.S. Court Backs School’s Decision to Bar Student’s Anti-Gay T-Shirt

Ruling by divided 9th Circuit Court panel is likely to be appealed.

A federal appeals court’s ruling that a public school may prohibit students’ wearing of T-shirts bearing slogans that “denigrate” gay and lesbian students was hailed last week by gay-rights advocates, but drew fire from some legal observers, who said it endorsed viewpoint discrimination.

The 2-1 decision late last month by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit came in a much-debated case involving a student at a California high school who wore a T-shirt calling homosexuality “shameful.”

“Those who administer our public educational institutions need not tolerate verbal assaults that may destroy the self-esteem of our most vulnerable teenagers and interfere with their educational development,” U.S. Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt...