Below are the e mail addresses of Kevin Castner the Superintendent of Schools
and the Principal and Assistant Principal.
After reading the following article you may want to consider voicing your
opinion.
http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel200401080929.asp
The school administrators:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
and the Principal and Assistant Principal.
After reading the following article you may want to consider voicing your
opinion.
http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel200401080929.asp
The school administrators:
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
January 08, 2004, 9:29 a.m.
Newsom Wins One
A First and Second victory.
By Dave Kopel
First Amendment rights and Second Amendment values won a big victory, and political correctness suffered a harsh defeat, last month in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. In the case of Newsom v. Albermarle County School Board the Fourth Circuit ruled 3-0 in favor of a public-school student's First Amendment right to wear a shirt from an NRA shooting-sports camp. The unanimous panel rejected the school's preposterous argument that banning the shirt was necessary for school safety.
The school soon discovered that Newsom's shirt was entirely legal under the school's existing dress code, which banned messages on clothing which related to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sex, or vulgarity, or which "reflected adversely" on a person's race or ethnicity. So the school added a dress-code amendment which banned "messages on clothing, jewelry, and personal belongings that relate to...weapons." The NRA filed suit on Newsom's behalf in September 2002, after the school refused to stop its unconstitutional suppression of student speech.
The school district essentially tried to turn the clock back to before the civil-rights era. It argued that the T-shirt was conduct, not speech, and therefore not entitled to any First Amendment protection. But several cases, including Tinker, have recognized that messages can be communicated through clothing; Tinker, after all, involved black arm bands with no words.
The school district alleged that the NRA shooting-sports camp T-shirt was disruptive, although there was no evidence to support the claim. Apparently the only person at the school who felt disturbed by seeing the T-shirt in April 2002 was the prejudiced assistant principal.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia Foundation filed an amicus brief on behalf of Newsom, as did the Individual Rights Foundation. So did Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, whose brief, ably written by staff attorney William Hurd, pointed out that the school's policy would outlaw the symbols of many Virginia institutions. The Virginia state seal, and the state flag, depict a woman with a spear standing on the chest of a dead tyrant. The University of Virginia Cavaliers sports teams use the symbol of two crossed sabers. (The Cavaliers were the group which supported the monarchy during the English Civil War.) And right across the street from Jack Jouett Middle School is Albermarle County High School — whose symbol is a Patriot with a musket.
I wrote an amicus brief for the Independence Institute, arguing that the school's policy was irrational, because shooting sports promote good character. The school's policy would punish students for wearing clothing supporting the Olympic or Paralympic shooting teams, or for wearing patches earned from the President's Council on Physical Fitness, or from other wholesome, character-building organizations.
Actually, at the district-court level, the school's attorney had told the court that the only problem with the T-shirt was the picture, not the words. The NRA immediately offered to settle the case, if the school would certify that students could wear words-only NRA clothing that did not depict gun use. The school district refused. Clearly the school's aim was to prevent a student from even wearing a lapel pin with the words "National Rifle Association."
According to the Jack Jouett Middle School website:
During the night of June 3-4, 1781, Captain Jack Jouett rode from Cuckoo Tavern in Louisa County to Charlottesville in time to warn Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and other members of the Virginia General Assembly that British soldiers, under the command of Colonel Tarleton, were on their way to capture them. Captain Jouett became known as the "Paul Revere of the South"' because his ride was one of the most significant factors of the war; however, little is known of Jack Jouett outside Virginia.
The website does not note the fact that the grateful Virginia legislature awarded Jouett a sword and a matched pair of pistols.
The obstinate and unconstitutional conduct of the school administration and the school board in the Newsom case revealed contempt for the First and Second Amendments. The adults' behavior was a disgrace to the memory of Jack Jouett. Young Alan Newsom, however, acted in the spirit of Jack Jouett and other great Virginians: He went to NRA camp to learn the responsible exercise of Second Amendment rights, and then he went to federal court to vindicate the First Amendment.
Alan Newsom might be unpopular with some school bureaucrats right now, but they should reread the last sentence of the Jack Jouett school's mission statement:
"Our ultimate charge is to deepen our students' academic, social, and civic understanding and skills so that they can be successful in high school and as independent, responsible, and contributing members of society."
Alan Newsom's deep civic understanding has already made him a responsible and contributing member of society, winning a major case which will help protect the rights of students for many generations to come.
— David Kopel is the research director at the Independence Institute.
