Suburban high school anti-gay T-shirt controversy a drawn out civics lesson

Two years ago, another student wore the slogan in question on the back of her T-shirt. The fashion statement, written in marker, was a reaction to the Day of Silence that April, where the school's Gay/Straight Alliance encouraged supporters not to talk unless necessary.

Nuxoll and those behind him, the conservative Alliance Defense Fund, see this as a First Amendment issue, The courts have ruled twice already that Indian Prairie School District 204 could tell students what they can and cannot wear to school. But the group is appealing the ruling once more.

Face it. Schools have rules. You can't wear gang colors to some schools, or wallet chains, or carry knives. If you're skirt's too short you can be sent home. It probably would get you sent to the Dean's Office if your T-shirt has a picture of Hitler or a Rebel flag on it, too. And at one high school in Chicago the smart kids couldn't even wear a shirt that bragged about how smart they are.

In Nuxoll's case, besides being a riff on an awful Bobby McFerrin song, the "Be Happy, Not Gay" shirt also is a touch hostile toward gay people. That he wanted to wear such a shirt gives clue as to why there is a Day of Silence in the first place - and why there still are so many people in the closet.

Plus, research is pointing toward homosexuality being in large part a genetic predisposition, meaning you might as well tell somebody to have blue eyes, not green ones.

No one is forcing Nuxoll doesn't to hang out with gay people, though it might teach him a thing or two - and he might just be surprised by what he learns about freedom.