Supreme Court Denies ‘Two Gender’ T-Shirt Case
Liam Morrison, a middle school student in MA, loses fight to wear “Only Two Genders” shirt in school.
The U.S. Supreme Court has dismissed a case involving a Massachusetts middle school student, Liam Morrison, who was told he could not wear a T-shirt that read “There Are Only Two Genders.” By declining the case, the Court leaves in place a lower court ruling that sided with the school.
The incident took place in 2023 at Nichols Middle School when Morrison wore the shirt, leading to complaints from other students. When he wouldn’t remove it, he was sent home. Pushing his limits even further, he later wore a modified version of the shirt with the phrase “Only Two” covered by tape marked “Censored,” but the school did not allow that either.
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Morrison’s family filed a lawsuit claiming his First Amendment rights were violated. However, both a federal district court and a Court of Appeals supported the school’s actions, citing a 1969 Supreme Court case that allows schools to restrict students’ free speech if it limits, disrupts, or harms others. And in this case, the school recognized that it absolutely does.
The Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented. “If a school sees fit to instruct students of a certain age on a social issue like L.G.B.T.Q.+ rights or gender identity,” Alito wrote, “then the school must tolerate dissenting student speech on those issues.”
The Supreme Court’s decision left the lower court’s ruling in favor of the school in effect. Morrison can not wear the shirt to school.
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