When Isaiah Smith (pictured) was allegedly bullied for being Christian and gay and carrying a Bible to school with him, the 18-year-old senior at Birdville High School in North Richland Hills, Texas, tore out scripture in protest. After being handed a three-day suspension for his actions, Smith is now looking to sue, according to the Star-Telegram.
On October 28th, students reportedly used the Leviticus passage to justify why Smith is going to hell. In reaction, Smith claims that he tore out the biblical passage to drive a point home about bullying, telling the Star-Telegram, “At my high school, some kids like to say that being gay is a sin and that you can’t be gay and Christian,” Smith laments. “I wanted to bring my Bible to school and interpret the books of Leviticus and Romans, because they are often used to bully gay people.”
According to Smith, he carried around the Bible for three days before he was summoned to the vice principal’s office and reprimanded for his actions by the school’s vice principal, Glenn Serviente, who allegedly took Smith’s Bible and said that his actions were a “distraction and disruption in class.”
On Monday, Smith returned to his high school to fight the punishment he received. With the help of the Washington, D.C.-based organization American Humanist Association, who contend that Smith’s suspension was a violation of his First Amendment Rights, Smith says, he plans to sue the district to get the suspension expunged from his record.
