In Wales, Wisconsin a high school is penalizing students who are supporting gun rights however, it continues to allow gun control supporters to protest.
The Kettle Moraine High School has not sanctioned or disciplined any student for gun control walkouts however, they are penalizing students that wear a shirt that has any type of gun on it.
The school has enacted a dress code that does not allow any depiction of a firearm however, students are saying that this violates their 1st Amendment Rights.
Robert Newhouse, a student, and gun rights supporter said he is an avid hunter and was told he could not wear a shirt that depicted a rifle with the words “Pew Professional.”
“Just to have a picture to be a supporter of our gun rights and be a supporter of just legal ownership of guns, it was very upsetting,” said Kimberly Newhouse, Robert’s mother.
Robert continued to wear the shirt until the school notified his parents that, “We do not allow students to wear clothes that depict guns (or alcohol, drugs, etc.) … Moving forward, Robert cannot wear any items of clothing that depict guns.”
Another student has been disciplined for wearing a Wisconsin Carry, Inc logo t-shirt, the organization is a gun rights organization.
Nik Clark the CEO of Wisconsin Carry has initiated a lawsuit saying that the dress code violates the student’s 1st Amendment rights.
“It doesn’t matter what your dress code says,” Clark said. “The Constitution of the United States and the First Amendment trumps your dress code. If a school sanctions a walkout for gun control and to call for gun control, to call for universal background checks, to call for red flag laws, certainly they should at least allow students to wear a non-violent, non-threatening shirt as they go about their daily business.”
Robert hopes that the lawsuit will let him wear the shirt again because he feels his political beliefs are being targeted.
“I definitely feel like it isn’t fair because I see other people expressing their other beliefs I may disagree with but i’m not going after them because of that,” Robert said. “I feel like I’m getting targeted because of my political beliefs.”
