Young students around America were forced to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A third grader named Lydia Booth in Mississippi was told that she was not allowed to wear a mask in school that read, “Jesus Loves Me.”
However, other children were wearing masks with phrases written on them. Lydia’s mother, Jennifer, explained, “I was looking around, and all these kids had words all over their masks.”
In Victory For Religious Freedom, Student Will Be Allowed To Wear ‘Jesus Loves Me’ Mask At School
In what some are calling a victory for religious freedom, elementary schooler Lydia Booth, 11, will now be allowed to wear her “Jesus Loves Me pic.twitter.com/RNd5tYrPiK— joe t (@jtinaglia) January 27, 2023
Lydia’s mask was not causing any disruptions and other students wore masks with words without any objections.
In a lawsuit filed on the family’s behalf by Alliance Defending Freedom (AFD), it argued that Lydia’s First Amendments rights were being violated.
The school claims it has a right to ban students from wearing “political” or “religious” messages. The judge fortunately disagreed with the school.
The court has ruled in favor of 9-year-old Lydia Booth who was banned by Simpson County School District from wearing Jesus Loves Me mask to school. The court observed that this violated her First Amendment constitutional rights. pic.twitter.com/SUsOMaeL4k
— Sachin Jose (@Sachinettiyil) January 31, 2023
Third grader Lydia Booth came out victorious and won the lawsuit.
ADF Legal Counsel Michael Ross said, “The First Amendment prohibits schools from singling out students for their speech, especially religious speech.”
”It’s very simple: What the school was doing is a flat violation of the First Amendment.”
Why would a school district want to silence a little girl’s witness for Christ?
Read Lydia Booth’s story in the latest edition of Faith & Justice magazine here: https://t.co/G9XVLDSjMe pic.twitter.com/OLGAJ9Leh9
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) March 6, 2021
Lydia said, “I chose the mask because it had my favorite words on it, ‘Jesus Loves Me,’ and it made me feel safe when I went to school.”
Lydia’s family was happy about their efforts to change the mask policy, which now allows “political” or “religious” messages.
Jennifer said, “It’s about the little things,” “Day to day, you don’t notice a change, but five years from now, you’re going to look back to this day and see how drastically everything has changed…If we have a belief, we have a right to share it.”
The school no longer mandates face masks for students.