Hey, Cops And School Administrators: A Cotton T-Shirt Does Not Shoot Bullets
Or even peas.

It's an inanimate object. It's just a form of expression.

Yes, this is actually a mini-lecture that seems to be necessary for West Virginia cops and school officials.

Jared Marcum, a 14-year-old student, was suspended and arrested for wearing an NRA-logo shirt with an illustration of a hunting rifle and the words "NRA: Protect Your Right."

Law prof Jonathan Turley blogs:

Marcum was stopped by school secretary Anita Gore, who instructed him to turn the shirt inside our or face suspension from school. Another teacher David Burroway agreed the shirt violated the dress code and pulled him to the principal's office by his arm, according to the lawsuit. He was told to turn the t-shirt inside out and protested. An argument ensued. Now at this point, I believe that the teacher is wrong to deny this small act of free speech, but I also believe that Marcum is wrong to get into an argument with a teacher. He should have complied or, better yet, asked to see the principal. However, at most this is a simple question for a teacher-parent meeting and not a matter for the police. It seems that the teacher allowed this to escalate in the lunchroom and Marcum should have been more respectful.

The family is now seeking $200,000 in compensatory damages and $250,000 in punitive damages for alleged violations of Marcum's First and 14th Amendment rights. The school's own dress code will be the foundation for the lawsuit because the tee-shirt will be defended as not having violent or threatening image. It could offer an interesting point of analysis for free speech. Gun ownership is a constitutionally protected individual right. Would a tee-shirt proclaiming the need to protect free speech be viewed as violent if it showed the minutemen or an image from the French Revolution?

...Despite the public outcry over the completely irrational and abusive application of zero tolerance rules, administrators and teachers continue to apply them blindly. If you do not have to exercise judgment, you can never been blamed for any failure. Conversely, even when the public outcry results in a reversals, teachers and administrators never seem punished with the same vigor for showing no judgment or logic in punishing a child.

By the way, the kid's shirt doesn't seem to violate the school's dress code policy:

Logan County Schools' dress code, which is posted on the school system's website, prohibits clothing and accessories that display profanity, violence, discriminatory messages or sexually suggestive phrases

It displays none of those things. And the kid knew the code and tried to talk sense to the zero sense/zero tolerance adults, who were having none of that. I admire him for standing up for his rights -- to the point of arrest and suspension -- while only 14.

Oh, and nice that the kid can read and think, even if administrators and cops in charge of him can't.