ANAHEIM HILLS (CBSLA.com) — A student at a high school in Anaheim Hills said administrators ordered her to change out of a T-shirt that promoted the National Rifle Association.
Sophomore Haley Bullwinkle said when she wore her NRA shirt to Canyon High School last month, she landed in the principal’s office for violating the school’s dress code that forbids offensive, violent or divisive clothing.
“They were treating me like I was a criminal,” she said. “I was not allowed to wear that at school because it promoted gun violence.”
The shirt, which was a gift from Bullwinkle’s father when he became a card-carrying member of the NRA, features a buck, an American flag and a hunter’s silhouette. It also has the words “National Rifle Association of America: Protecting America’s Traditions Since 1871” written in the center.
Bullwinkle’s father said he emailed the school’s principal to find out why his daughter had to change her shirt.
Principal Kimberly Fricker responded in an email, which said, in part, “The shirt had a gun on it, which is not allowed by school police. It’s protocol to have students change when they’re in violation of the dress code.”
The girl’s father, who has retained an attorney, now wants to know how the school defines violence. He said the drill team is allowed to twirl fake rifles and the mascot is a Comanche.
Same thing happened to my kid (at a suburban Chicago school), except his shirt only had an eagle and the letters “NRA”.
This school might have standing if their established dress code explicitly forbids clothing with images of either firearms or any weapon (I know, its stupid, but we’re talking legal standing here).
Let’s see how their “protocol” matches up to the “code”. They could be afraid of the words ” America’s Traditions ” . Maybe it is the word “rifle” that through the school’s snap neck condition response may have cause panic.
PAST THE BUCK response from rendition conditioned school system i.e I’m sorry, but not the school that did this to her. Training in the Bill of rights, Constitution etc. etc. may just enlighten a dark cave of their mind.