Student Suspended for Saying Gay Is Wrong: MyFoxDFW.com
Dakota Ary, an honors student at Western Hills High School in Fort Worth, Texas, was in for a surprise after being sent to the principal’s office and punished for sharing his opinion.
After telling another student that he believes homosexuality is wrong, Dakota was reprimanded and given in-school suspension. The incident purportedly unfolded during a German class at the school. He explains:
“We were talking about religions in Germany. I said, ‘I’m a Christian. I think being a homosexual is wrong.
It wasn’t directed to anyone except my friend who was sitting behind me. I guess [the teacher] heard me. He started yelling. He told me he was going to write me an infraction and send me to the office.”
Following the incident his mother, Holly Pope, received a call from an assistant principal at the school informing her of the punishment. In an interview with Fox News Radio, she says was “absolutely stunned“:
“Dakota is a very well-grounded 14-year-old. He’s been in church his whole life and he’s been taught to stand up for what he believes.
He was stating an opinion. He has a right to do that. They punished him for it.”
Dakota Ary
After hearing the student’s explanation, the assistant principal reduced the punishment from two days to one, but Dakota and his mother aren’t satisfied, as they believe his free speech has been infringed upon.
While the district isn’t speaking out about the incident, on Wednesday, Dakota, his mother and attorney Matt Krause met with the school’s principal. Pope hopes that the school will remove the disciplinary blemish from the child’s record, while pledging that there won’t be any further retaliation.
In commenting on the incident, Krause said, “Students don’t lose their first amendment rights just because they go in the schoolhouse door.”
Even if the issue is dismissed, Dakota will still be in the same classroom, with the same teacher — a concern that the family will still have to contend with should he opt to continue taking German.
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