California district apologizes for forcing student to remove NRA shirt

The Orange (Calif.) Unified District has apologized to a 16-year-old student who was forced to remove a National Rifle Association t-shirt that school officials initially said violated the student dress code. The Los Angeles Times reports that officials at Canyon High in Anaheim ordered Haley Bullwinkle to remove the shirt or face disciplinary action. The shirt depicts an American flag and a silhouette of a hunter with a rifle and the slogan: “National Rifle Association of America, Protecting America’s Traditions Since 1871.” The school’s dress code prohibits clothing that promotes or depicts violence, criminal activity and anything that’s degrading to ethnic values, among other restrictions. But after reviewing the pictures on the shirt, school officials decided that the shirt didn’t promote violence.