“The hat a Michigan third grader wore for her school’s ‘Great Kindness Challenge’ in 2022 featured an image of an AR-style rifle and the phrase ‘come and take it,’” USA Today reported Wednesday. “The Supreme Court on June 8 declined to review lower court rulings that the school did not violate the student’s free speech rights by prohibiting the hat.”
“In the Michigan student’s unsuccessful appeal, her lawyers argued school officials provided no evidence that the hat was disruptive because their real motivation was to silence a viewpoint with which they disagreed,” the report – a rare story from USA Today/Gannett Publications that does not kneejerk attack the right to keep and bear arms – elaborates. “Rather than take the opportunity to convey to a bright, politically aware 8-year-old that her voice and thoughts matter, school officials instead told her to sit down and shut up − presumably because they personally don’t like the Second Amendment or the rights it protects,” it goes on to quote lawyers for the student’s father.
It’s emblematic of the bullying that teachers and administrators subject any student to who deviates from the anti-gun propaganda being used to indoctrinate young minds and manipulate developing political beliefs and attitudes. It typically stays below the radar until events bring it to the fore, such as adult-organized, publicized and funded student walkouts against guns, or on a more up-close, personal, and ludicrous level, suspensions over LEGO guns and the like.
And now, with the advent of the (“gun-free”) United States Semiquincentennial celebrations, and the opposition by all who view them as opportunities to disparage President Donald Trump (and anyone who believes in the America First principles he campaigned on), they’ll have another opportunity to attack children who believe the nexus between the right to arms and freedom merits being recognized.
Freedom 250 has announced its American Heroes Student Art Contest, noting the eligibility of “Any student in grades 3–12 who is a legal resident of any of the 50 states or 6 U.S. territories is eligible to enter.”
“Participating students should create and submit an original, handmade two-dimensional artwork and a 200-word artist statement (100 words for elementary students),” the submission requirements state. And while the “heroes” to be honored come from a pre-selected list (which is arguably a presumptive and un-American bit of censorship), it’s not hard to see why submissions for legendary names like Daniel Boone, “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Davy Crockett (talk about “Come and take it”!), Audie Murphy, or Alvin York would appropriately include guns in the design. Noting actor and former NRA President Charlton Heston is also on the list, a “From my cold dead hands” poster would seem a natural.
“With the help of a parent, guardian, or teacher, submit your artwork onto the ArtCall Submission Platform with a high-resolution photo or digital scan, along with the artist statement,” the rules further instruct.
Teachers have been known to report students over perceived off-campus gun concerns before, even when no cause for them existed. Cases in point:
- 4th grader suspended for having a BB gun in his bedroom during virtual learning
- What Teachers Spy in Homes over Zoom Winds Up in Court (Visible guns, Trump banners get students in trouble)
- 12-year-old suspended in Colorado over toy gun seen in virtual class
We could go on, but the point is made. Who thinks the envisioned Heston poster would result in anything other than a world of hurt if a prohibitionist teacher or administrator got wind of it?
Now imagine such an entry actually winning an award:
“Up to 168 first-place awardees (up to 1 student from each age group category representing 56 each state and territory) and their designated parent/guardian will receive a travel and lodging allowance to travel to Washington, D.C., July 7-9, 2026, to attend a Student Art Exhibition and Award Ceremony at the Great American State Fair, recognizing state, regional, and overall winners.”
That would certainly seem to be an achievement worth their school’s recognition, approval and praise. Who thinks that’s how a win would be treated in a “deep blue” school district?
By taking a pass on the “Come and Take It” hat challenge, the Supreme Court has left the greater portion of “our Posterity” in public schools at the mercy of the Randy Weingarten-types for “approved” ideologies on guns and more.
Ninth Circuit Rules Suppressors Are Not Second Amendment Arms
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
