On June 2, a local high school student filed a suit against the Poway Unified School District after he was suspended for wearing a T-shirt that said “Homosexuals are shameful Romans 1:27” and “I do not accept what God has condemned”. The student’s lawsuit alleges the suspension violated his freedom of speech, freedom of religion and equal protection of the law.

The student explained that he wore the T-shirt in response to the Day of Silence. The Day of Silence is an annual, national, student-led effort in which participants take a vow of silence to peacefully protest the discrimination and harassment faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth in schools.

Although we fully support and defend an individual’s right to freedom of speech, the irony of this lawsuit is that the statements expressed on this student’s T-shirt serve as a clear and painful reminder of the discrimination and harassment LGBT students all over the nation face on a daily basis. That is precisely the reason for the Day of Silence campaign.

It is my hope that, while this student may have the right to wear this T-shirt, he will come to understand that the words worn on his shirt have caused a great deal of pain to LGBT people, and not just the LGBT students at his school. These “religious” expressions have never been simply viewpoints or political opinions to us. For our community, this type of rhetoric has historically been used to justify and/or incite discrimination, harassment and, far too often, violence against LGBT people.

This young man may not remember the horror caused by Fred Phelps protesting at Matthew Shepard’s funeral using this type of rhetoric. Although Phelps was exercising his right to free speech, most people clearly understood that Phelps’ presence and words on that sorrow-filled day went far beyond just the desire to simply express his opinion – his mean-spirited actions were designed to inflict pain.

As a community, we remain fully aware of the rights of others and the freedoms that are the foundation of our struggle. The rights that protect our community’s right to protest, to speak out for justice, and in fact even protect the student’s rights to have a Day of Silence, are the same rights that protect this student as he wears his T-shirt. These First Amendment freedoms are vital and sacred to us, and to our nation. However, the further question we must ask is whether this student’s actions were designed to incite violence? Was his action hate speech?

In 1999, AB 537 passed and California became one of the few states to protect students from discrimination and hate violence on the basis of real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. It is simply a safe-school policy. This law mandates that schools protect students from ongoing, pervasive discrimination, bias or harassment.

In this incident, we believe that the student’s T-shirt and its message is protected speech and that he does have a right to express those opinions. While some have argued that his shirt constitutes hate speech, we do not believe it meets the criteria for hate speech – he did not name a specific person, he did not incite violence, nor did he use hateful name-calling. Those are the general criteria for hate speech.

While no one was immediately physically harmed by the wearing of this shirt, throughout our community’s history we have lost lives because of this type of rhetoric. And other students – at this very same school – have done physical harm to LGBT students. Neither the wearing of an anti-gay shirt or physical abuse of LGBT students are isolated incidents. This school has a problem, as do far too many schools all across the country.

While we are compelled to protect and defend this student’s right to express his beliefs, we must also be equally clear that the words on this young man’s T-shirt have caused our community distress, anger and pain. Those who inflict this type of pain must hear and understand the pain they cause, no matter their right to express their opinions.

However, just because we have a right does not mean we should exercise it. Complete disregard for how your words or language may make other students or people feel was never the goal in establishing our nation’s most basic – but most precious – freedoms.