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Opening Arguments

Razzle dazzle

So, taunting someone about religion is perfectly OK, but taunting someone about sexuality is hate speech?

When a few classmates razzed Rebekah Rice about her Mormon upbringing with questions such as, "Do you have 10 moms?" she shot back: "That's so gay."

Those three words landed the high school freshman in the principal's office and resulted in a lawsuit that raises this question: When do playground insults used every day all over America cross the line into hate speech that must be stamped out?

After Rice got a warning and a notation in her file, her parents sued, claiming officials at Santa Rosa's Maria Carillo High violated their daughter's First Amendment rights when they disciplined her for uttering a phrase "which enjoys widespread currency in youth culture," according to court documents.

It's ridiculous to punish a razzer who was merely razzing back after having been razzed, especially when it was a fairly clever retort. I mean, having more than one mom is so gay, is it not? I would accuse all these hate-speech-seeking, quick-to-take-offense people of havinhg completely lost their perspective, but such judgmentalism would be so Mormon of me.

Comments

Bob G.
Thu, 03/01/2007 - 6:49am

AL Gore might just be onto something...all these greenhouse gases (and the increased UV rays)are making our skin SO much THINNER....

If you get my drift.

;)

B.G.

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