Florida Today profiles some local goth teens who are fighting an anti-goth clothing ban enforced by Brevard Public Schools.

“Amaris is one of about 30 students trying to change the district’s dress code policy, which they believe is outdated and curtails their freedom of expression. The students went before the school board this week to argue their case … Brevard Public Schools’ dress code policy specifically prohibits Gothic-style clothing or accessories, citing that such gear is tied to ‘violent or death oriented themes.’”

Of special note, one of the teens leading the effort, Amaris Mulhauser, claims that removing her goth clothing infringes on her religious rights.

“Amaris — a soft-spoken sophomore who said she’d never been suspended and had never received a grade lower than a C — argues she has a right to her style of dress. She said her clothing is part of her Wiccan religion, a neo-pagan, Earth-centered faith. ‘I get pulled out of classes, stopped in the hallways, all because they say our makeup is a distraction,’ Amaris, who signs the ‘A’ in her name with the anarchy symbol, told the Brevard County School Board. ‘I think basically it is a ploy against people who are different. I am very tired of the unfair treatment that we’ve been given.’”

While some might be quick to disregard her claims, the intermingling of the goth subculture with Pagan belief has been steadily on the rise, and if her beliefs are sincere, the law is on her side. I think Brock on the Non-Fluffy Pagans community best encapsulates why religious claims like this are important.

“…there is a REALLY strong current here of “The way you are practicing Wicca in public is different from the way I choose to practice it, and I find the way you do it to be personally embarrassing, so it’s okay for the civil authorities to make you stop.” I don’t like it much. What it boils down to is ceding to the civil authorities the right to define what is and is not proper Wiccan practice. That’s an awfully dangerous road to go down, if you think about it. Frankly, I think equating extreme Goth dress with lots of bad makeup to an essential part of Wiccan practice is stupid. But if the young lady in question sincerely believes that it is necessary to the proper practice of her religion we ought to be supporting her, not condemning her. From a political point oif view, to do otherwise is stupid. Any act which diminishes individual religious liberty will ultimately have an adverse effect of the practice of all minority religions, including all of the Pagan ones.”

So if we are serious about our religious freedoms, we need to defend them completely. Even the kids who dress like goths for religious reasons, or paint pentacles on their cheeks for Beltane. If we can’t protect the religious freedoms of those we might label as foolish or alienated, there is no guarantee we will be able to protect any of our number.

Tags: Amaris Mulhauser, goth, Paganism, Religious Freedom, Wicca