"That's So Gay"

A friend of mine sent me an article about an case in Santa Rosa where a high school student who had been disciplined for using the phrase, "That's So Gay," failed in her bid to receive monetary compensation for being disciplined and "mercilessly" teased. As interesting as the result of the case was, the arguments of the teenager, Rebekah Rice, were even more interesting.

Rice argued that 1) the school district violated Rice's First Amendment rights and 2) the school had a double standard because its teachers never sough to protect Rice from teasing based on Mormon stereotypes. Rice's lawyer obviously didn't spend much time in the first year law school class called, of all things, "Constitutional Law." If s/he had spent more time there, they would have learned that there are exceptions to free speech. You can't say whatever the hell you want whenever you want. You can't cause panic. You can't overthrow the government. You can't incite a crime. Two additional areas that likely torpedoed Rice's claim was the prohibition against defamation and the prohibition against fighting words. Defamation is prohibited and is defined, in short, as harming the reputation of another. If something that is stupid or repulsive is referred to as "so gay" and I am gay, then I am also stupid or repulsive. Since in reality I am neither stupid nor repulsive, you have alleged a fact that is false and caused me harm. The second exception that applies here is known as "fighting words." Chaplinsky v. New Hampshirestated that words meant to inflict injury or an immediate breach of peace are prohibited. Does, "That's So Gay" qualify? Well, this is one Queer that has known to be incited to immediately breach the peace upon hearing the phrase.

The Rice's second argument is less interesting, but equally delusional. It is the age-old argument of "Well, she started it!" To be more legalistic, the Rice's had to establish a duty, then prove that the district breached that duty, and finally that Rice suffered as a result of that breach. Obviously, since Rice was already under fire for her comment, the proffering of this claim amounted to little more than pointing to everyone else and saying they are guilty too.

The big surprise here: Rice never admitted any wrong doing. She never said she misspoke, but should have been punished less severely. She never said she knows she may have unwittingly caused some people to have their feelings hurt, but didn't feel the punishment fit the crime. Those things I would get. Maybe the punishment was too harsh, who knows. To say that you are entitled to say ,"That's So Gay" as a Constitutional right and that the school district was not identifying other idiots is a very poor legal and moral argument.

Queers have fought for a long time to be able to voice their opinions when and where they please. We are used to disparaging remarks about the LGBTQ population. When there is an event such as this that decides it is not okay to use our sexual orientation as an adjective for something that sucks, it is a good day. For Rebekah Rice, I wish you the very best in your quest for the fulfillment of your Constitutional Rights. You may not have the freedom of speech you seek, but you certainly have the right to waste your money on really stupid law suits. God Bless America.