Emma Sullivan, an eighteen-year-old senior at Shawnee Mission East High School  knows how to express her political opinion.  After she took a field trip to the Kansas state capital, just before Thanksgiving 2011, she was less than impressed by R-Governor Brownback's speech.  She tweeted.

"Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked in person #heblowsalot."

Brownback's office trolled the Twitterverse and found her comment, then contacted the school to complain.  "Embarrassed," the principal demanded Sullivan write an apology letter. 

WHAT??

Emma is 18 -- old enough (and registered) to vote.  She's old enough to fight and die for her country.  Doesn't that make her old enough to speak  her mind?  Shouldn't her principal, the person charged with teaching her to think, refrain from punishing her for acting on that knowledge?

Hate to break it to you, Dr Karl Krawitz (email address eakrawit@smsd.org), but Emma Sullivan has First Amendment rights, especially in the privacy of her own home (and Twitter account).  Her actions did not disrupt the student body at school -- YOURS did. 

Hoping Emma Sullivan gets thousands of new followers on her Twitter account and just as many comments of support.  Hoping the Kansas ACLU is also on her team.  They certainly should be.

Go Emma!  You're a free speech hero in my book!

READ MORE ABOUT IT:

Huffington Post

New York Daily News

Kansas City Star