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Texas College Settles Lawsuit by Student Whose Gun Rights Sign Needed ‘Special Permission’

/ FIRE
May 4, 2016

A Texas College settled a First Amendment lawsuit filed by a student who was told her gun rights sign needed "special permission" and who also had to face bureaucratic red tape to express herself on campus.

Blinn College, as part of the settlement agreement, will revise its policies to comply with the First Amendment. It also agreed to pay student Nicole Sanders $50,000 for damages and attorney’s fees.

"I am happy that Blinn College agreed to make important changes to its student speech policies that not only bring them in line with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, but also make it less likely that students will have their rights trampled in the future," said Sanders in a prepared statement.

"I truly hope that the legacy of this case will make Blinn a place where free speech rights are both exercised by students and protected by the administration," Sanders said.

Sanders filed the suit last May with the assistance of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education after she and another student staged an event to sign up for the group Young Americans for Liberty.

They held two signs outside the Student Center. The first sign read, "Defend Gun Rights on Campus." The other sign read, "LOL" with the Obama presidential logo replacing the "O."

Campus police officers and the coordinator of the Student Center and Campus Events approached the students when they entered the Student Center. The administrator told them they needed special permission to collect sign-ups for their YAL club and to display their signs.

"Because Nicole bravely stood up for what she knew was right, the free speech rights of more than 17,000 students at Blinn College have been restored today," said FIRE director of litigation Catherine Sevcenko in a statement.

"Students should never be confronted by armed police officers and forced through bureaucratic red tape when trying to express themselves on the issues they are passionate about, whether it’s gun rights or gay rights," Sevcenko said.