ANAHEIM, Calif. — A Canyon High School student believes her First Amendment rights were violated after campus officials told her to remove a National Rifle Association (NRA) T-shirt or face disciplinary action.
Haley Bullwinkle, 16, complied with the request, but later said she felt that officials violated her freedom of speech.
Initially, officials decided that Bullwinkle’s shirt, which featured an American flag, a silhouette of a hunter with a rifle and the slogan: “National Rifle Association of America, Protecting America’s Traditions Since 1871,” violated the school’s dress code. The code bans clothing with depictions of violence, criminal activity and anything degrading to ethnic values, LA Times reports.
Canyon High School Principal Kimberly Fricker later determined that the shirt didn’t promote violence, and the school issued an apology to Bullwinkle. The school noted that campus staff will receive training to handle similar incidents in the future.
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