We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

The family of a suspended North Carolina high student who asked in class for clarification on the vocabulary term “alien” is suing the school district alleging a violation of the teen’s First Amendment rights.

As BizPac Review reported, 16-year-old Christian McGhee was suspended for three days from Central Davidson High School for asking his teacher if they meant “space aliens or illegal aliens without green cards?”

School officials claimed McGhee was being offensive and disrespectful to Hispanics — the equivalent of a racial slur. It’s an accusation the teenager fervently denied.

“I didn’t make a statement directed towards anyone; I asked a question,” McGhee later recalled to the Carolina Journal. “I wasn’t speaking of Hispanics because everyone from other countries needs green cards, and the term ‘illegal alien’ is an actual term that I hear on the news and can find in the dictionary.”

“Christian is raised in a household that instills the beliefs in the following of Jesus Christ,” his mother, Leah McGhee, told NewsNation’s “On Balance” on Tuesday.

“For him, that hurts even more, because he knows in his heart, he has zero racism in his heart,” she said.

(Video: YouTube)

“The family represented by the Liberty Justice Center filed a lawsuit against the school district, alleging violations of Christian’s free speech, education and due process rights,” NewsNation reports.

Meanwhile, Leah fears the school’s suspension will “hinder” her son’s ability to get into college if it isn’t removed from his record.

“It means that it could hinder him,” Leah said. “He’s getting ready to go into his junior year in high school, and he’s going to be applying for colleges. And this label that was so unfairly placed on his record is going to hinder him.”

“On Balance” host Leland Vittert asked Liberty Justice Center attorney Dean McGee if there’s “anything to be made” of the way the left is addressing the anti-Israel protestors on university campuses compared with the school district’s rebuke of Christian.

“We’ve watched videos around the country, both at high schools and at the college level, of people chanting violent, hateful things at Jews,” Vittert said, citing such genocidal chants as “From the River to the Sea.”

“Everyone’s then talks about protecting their free speech,” he said of the activists, “but for some reason, a question about illegal aliens, there is this deafening silence about a child’s right? Why is that?”

“I can’t tell you why that is,” McGee replied. “But I will say that the name of the game for this administration at Christian’s school has been hypocrisy.”

“If they are punishing him in the hope of looking progressive, they’ve failed miserably,” he stated.

Leah suggested “after the very first meeting with the assistant principal” that there should be a meeting with anyone who was actually offended by Christian’s choice of words, so Christian and his family could discuss the situation.

“That is restorative justice,” McGee said. “That is supposed to be the progressive modern trend in how discipline is done in schools.”

“And, instead, you have this administrator who treats this kid like he said the n-word,” he added. “And that’s his own term for what Christian said.”

Leah said she has no idea why the school is “picking on” Christian.

“We love Central Davidson High School,” she said. “We were excited for our son to attend Central Davidson High School.”

Since moving to the area in August, Christian has excelled, his mother said, and has “made wonderful friends.”

“And so,” Leah said, “the fact that this has happened is beyond us.

“We have no idea.”

Melissa Fine
Latest posts by Melissa Fine (see all)

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.