Southwest Airlines rejected a Washington woman off a flight in Reno after passengers complained about a message on her T-shirt.
The T-shirt had pictures of President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and a phrase similar to the popular film, Meet the Fockers.
The women said the T-shirt as a gag for her Democrats parents to see when they picked her in Portland, Oregon.
Southwest Airlines spokesperson said the passenger complaints did not follow the rules on passenger conduct filed with the FAA. This includes conduct which is offensive, abusive, disorderly or violent or for clothing that is “lewd, obscene, or patently offensive.”
A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union in Nevada said Heasley’s T-shirt is “protected” political speech under the Constitution, reported the Reno Gazette-Journal. Additionally, an FAA spokesman said no federal rules exist on the subject.
The women intend to file a civil-rights case against Southwest Airlines.
