ACLU urges Kansas district to stop barring safety pins

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union is urging a Kansas school district to stop urging staff not to wear safety pins on their clothes in a sign of solidarity to the disenfranchised.

The ACLU sent a letter Tuesday to the Shawnee Mission School District about the pins, which have gained popularity in the U.S. following the presidential election of Donald Trump. The pins first began to be worn amid reports of hate crimes in the United Kingdom following that country's vote in June to leave the European Union. They are intended to show that the wearer is a safe person to which to turn.

Doug Bonney, chief counsel for the ACLU's Kansas chapter, said telling staff last week not to wear the pins is "ludicrous." He said litigation is "a very real probability" but that the organization wanted to give the district time to make a change first, with the school board expected to discuss the pins at a meeting next week.

Bonney added that any potential litigation is complicated by the fact that Kansas lawmakers eliminated due process for educators in 2014.

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