(OPINION) ETH – A public high school in Livingston, Tennessee has reportedly sent a student home after wearing a t-shirt proclaiming that “homosexuality is a sin.” as a result, The father of the young girl who is a Christian preacher and activist Rich Penkoski, is now reportedly accusing the school of violating her First Amendment rights by forcing her to change the shirt.
He is now contemplating legal action against the school. The daughter of Penkoski, Brielle attends Livingston Academy, a public high school in Livingston, Tennessee where on Tuesday, Aug. 25th, she was allegedly asked to change out of a black T-shirt shirt bearing white letters asserting that “homosexuality is a sin.”
The phrase on the shirt is in reference to the New Testament passage of 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. According to the Christian Post, Brielle refused to change the shirt and was then sent home from school, according to her father in a recent interview.
Penkoski is no stranger to controversy as he regularly speaks out in opposition to things like homosexuality and Drag Queen Story Hour events, and runs an organization called Warriors for Christ, which describes itself as a “pre-denominational ministry” that has a global online presence.
Penkoski claimed that Livingston Academy principal Richard Melton told him that his daughter’s shirt was prohibited on school grounds because its message featured “sexual connotation.” Penkoski responded by pointing out that one of his daughter’s teachers has an LGBT pride sticker displayed in his classroom featuring the rainbow colors that are associated with the LGBT movement.
The teacher’s sticker features words: “Diverse, Inclusive, Accepting, Welcoming Safe Space For Everyone.” According to Penkoski, the principal has no issue with the pro-LGBT being displayed. Penkoski is accusing the school of abiding by a double standard when it comes to political speech.
Penkoski claims that while the school allows students and teachers to “promote pride,” his daughter was “told to leave” because she wore apparel expressing a dissenting viewpoint on the hot-button topic, he argued. He went on and said: “She wanted to do this on her own.
She wanted to go there to … express her values as all the other kids do,” he added. “They’ve got kids walking around with the pride symbol on their sneakers and pride clothing and nobody bats an eye.” “She was basically censored,” Penkoski continued.
“It’s not fair … that she’s told that she can’t wear that shirt and other people can wear the stuff that they wear.” “But if a Christian comes up there and repeats what the Bible says, they are seen as intolerant, they are seen as hateful,” he added. “Simply saying ‘homosexuality is a sin’ is not hate speech. That’s what the Bible says. And we need to start preaching truthfully.”
Pastor Dale Walker, who is the president of the Tennessee Pastors Network, agrees with Penkoski and said that what happened to his daughter was “an indication of what is happening in our school systems.” “They’re trying to drive the indoctrination down the throats of the students,” Walker contends.
“They want the students to cower down and not be able to wear a shirt that has a Bible verse on it. They can fly your rainbow flags but then you have a Christian student who wants to express her deeply held beliefs and she is unable to.” “Our elected officials have to return the power of the schools back to the people,” he argued. “If not, the indoctrination will continue and it will get markedly worse.”
