Noah Christensen, a Nevada teenager who called his congressman to demand gun control, is now re-thinking his choice of words after finding himself suspended from school for dropping an F-bomb during the call, CNN is reporting.
It's a case that pours several complex issues, stirs them into a pot, and creates a thorny legal stew that involves freedom of speech, the concept of teenagers being punished at school for what they do on their personal time, the subject of decorum when speaking to elected officials, and of course, the old bugaboo of gun control.
Here's what happened: last week, Christensen, like so many teachers motivated to action by the Parkland school shooting, called his congressman to demand action on gun control. In this particular case, it was Mark Amodei, whose Reno office Christensen called to demand that he (Amodei) ban bump stocks and raise the minimum age to buy certain guns.
However, Christensen used what he admits is a poor choice of words.
"get off their f***ing a***s"
News Update from CNN: He called his congressman and dropped an F-bomb - Noah Christensen, 17, dropped an F-bomb when he called his congressman's office to demand action on gun control. The Nevada teen's school suspended him for two days. He is now at... https://t.co/i9zES3esyA— Ellie (@hoot_ellie) March 22, 2018
— Ellie (@hoot_ellie) March 22, 2018
"[Disciplining Christensen in this way] will have a chilling effect on other students who are considering engaging in the political process."
"It was inappropriate and unbecoming of your congressional office to seek to have this student punished. You owe this student a public apology for retaliating against him by enlisting the school to punish him on your behalf."
"What am I going to apologize for?"
"Do I have a problem with this guy exercising his First Amendment rights? Absolutely not."
