Carlsbad Company's 'Boobies' Bracelet Caught In Court Battle
CARSLBAD (AP/CBS) — A federal judge has ruled that a Carslbad-based company's products are not lewd or vulgar and can't be banned by public school officials who find them offensive.
The ruling is a victory for two Pennsylvania girls suspended for defying a ban on their middle school's Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
The non-profit group Keep-A-Breast Foundation sponsored a national breast cancer fundraiser by selling "I (heart) Boobies" t-shirts and bracelets. Both items started showing up in California schools last year and have been banned in several districts with officials saying they were too vulgar for students to wear.
"The bracelets ... can reasonably be viewed as speech designed to raise awareness of breast cancer and to reduce stigma associated with openly discussing breast health," U.S. Judge Mary McLaughlin wrote in a 40-page ruling issued Tuesday. She added that the school district had not shown the bracelets would be disruptive in school.
The American Civil Liberties Union, representing the girls, had sued to overturn the ban and stop the school from punishing their clients. McLaughlin issued a temporary injunction Tuesday that bars the Philadelphia area school district from banning the $4 rubber bracelets until the case goes to trial.
The "I (heart) Boobies" t-shirts were not included in the ruling and are still under discussion in that Philadelphia area school district.
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