Associated Press

A three-judge panel in Chicago heard testimony April 4 in a Naperville high school student’s appeal to wear a T-shirt expressing opposition to homosexuality.

Alexander Nuxoll, a Neuqua Valley High School sophomore, was banned from wearing a T-shirt reading “Be Happy, Not Gay” to school.

Nuxoll and one-time student Heidi Zamecnik, who wore a similar T-shirt to school in 2006, filed a lawsuit saying their civil rights had been violated. Indian Prairie Unit District 204 later said the students could wear a T-shirt that read “Be Happy, Be Straight,” but the students refused. Last year, a judge ruled against them.

Zamecnik has since graduated. Last week, the federal appeals court in Chicago heard arguments from attorneys in Nuxoll’s case.

The Alliance Defense Fund, an anti-gay Christian litigation group representing the students, said they should be allowed to express their views.

“Christian students shouldn’t be discriminated against for expressing their beliefs,” attorney Nate Kellum said in a statement. “The Constitution prohibits school officials from singling out one viewpoint for censorship while allowing opposing viewpoints to be heard.”

Appellate Judge Richard Posner argued that the T-shirt’s message was just a play on words to reinforce the students’ message.

“It’s so tepid,” Posner said. “It’s just a pun because gay once meant happy. It’s a joke.”

But school district attorney Thomas Canna said the shirt’s message is no laughing matter.

“I don’t believe it’s a joke at all,” he said, “especially for someone struggling with their identity.”

The school district has argued that the T-shirts are derogatory and cause disruption to students’ education.

No date has been set for a decision from the appeals court, but both sides are hoping for a determination before pro-gay and anti-gay demonstrations scheduled near the end of April.