Judge OKs Boobies for Students

A federal judge sided with the ACLU giving children the right to adorn themselves with the slogan "I (heart) Boobies!" in school.



-- From "Judge OKs School 'Boobies' Bracelets" by The Associated Press 4/12/11

U.S. District Judge Mary McLaughlin is siding with students in a free-speech test case filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. McLaughlin issued a temporary injunction Tuesday that bars the Easton Area School District [in eastern Pennsylvania] from enforcing its ban on the $4 rubber bracelets.

McLaughlin heard testimony from Easton middle school students in December. She finds the bracelets are being worn to promote breast cancer awareness.

Easton school officials argue the slogan suggests a sexual double meaning and leads to in-school distractions. Easton is one of several school districts around the country to ban the bracelets.

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From "Judge rules it's OK for students to wear 'I Heart Boobies' bracelets" by NEWSCORE 4/12/11

Judge McLaughlin found that the school district had not proved that the bracelets were crude nor vulgar, nor had it shown the jewelery would disrupt the school's operations.

"The bracelets are intended to be and they can reasonably be viewed as speech designed to raise awareness of breast cancer and to reduce stigma associated with openly discussing breast health," McLaughlin wrote in a memorandum on the injunction.

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From "U.S. judge sides with girls in ‘I (heart) Boobies’ case" by Robert Moran, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer 4/12/11

The district's attorney, John E. Freund III, said he was disappointed by the ruling but had yet to confer with the school board about a possible appeal.

"It is inconceivable that the court did not recognize that the bracelets were meant to titillate," Freund said, noting that a porn actress had sought to associate herself with the bracelets and that truck stops were interested in selling them.

He added, "There's no group more distractible than 12- to 14-year-old middle school boys."

Brianna Hawk, 13, and Kayla Martinez, 12, had been wearing the bracelets since the beginning of the school year when school officials decided to ban them, asserting that the slogan was a lewd double entendre.

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