Conn. school relents, allows anti-gay t-shirt

WOLCOTT, Conn. The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut says officials in a school district are reversing themselves and allowing a student to wear a T-shirt with an anti-gay message.

The ACLU announced Tuesday that the lawyer for the school district says Wolcott High School student Seth Groody may wear the T-shirt, which bears a slash mark through a rainbow. The other side showed a male stick figure and a female stick figure holding hands above the legend, Excessive Speech Day.

The student wore the T-shirt in April 2012 which was designated as a Day of Silence at Wolcott High School as part of a national movement to raise awareness of bullying and harassment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, reports CBS affiliate WFSB in Hartford.

The ACLU says it was prepared to sue the school district. School attorney Christine Chinni wrote to the ACLU this month saying Groody may wear the T-shirt.

"The First Amendment was written to protect unpopular speech, which is naturally the kind of speech that will always need protection," Sandra Staub, legal director of the ACLU of Connecticut, told WFSB. "The ACLU has fought hard for same-sex marriage and we couldn't agree with Seth less on that issue, but he is absolutely correct about his right to express his opinion."