For the second time this year a major American museum has been forced to apologise to visitors displaying pro-life messages on their clothing.
The National Archives in Washington DC told a Christian school group to cover up pro-life slogans on their hats, buttons and clothes.
They were visiting before taking part in the March For Life.
A couple who accompanied their daughters in the group sued the national records agency.
It apologised and offered them a personal tour of the museum.
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) proudly claims it is the home of the original US Constitution and the Bill of Rights which enshrine First Amendment rights to freedom of speech.
“NARA policy expressly allows all visitors to wear T-shirts, hats, buttons, etc. that display protest language, including religious and political speech,” the museum said.
“We are actively investigating to determine what happened. Early indications are that our security officers quickly corrected their actions and, from that point forward, all visitors were permitted to enter our facility without needing to remove or cover their attire.”
The plaintiffs are represented by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) which is advocating for a total of four clients who were a part of three separate groups that visited the National Archives at three different times on the day of the March For Life (January 20).
“When one of our clients questioned the order, a National Archives security officer said that the apparel would ‘incite others’ and that she was ‘disturbing the peace,'” ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow explained in a statement.
“Another of our clients was told that her T-shirt was ‘offensive’ and had to be covered up or removed. Her shirt read simply MARCH 4 LIFE with the name of her youth group.”
“Perhaps most disturbing of all were the security officers who instructed a whole group of Catholic students and chaperones to remove or cover up ALL their religious and pro-life clothing while standing in the same room as the Constitution of the United States.”
The ACLJ helped multiple plaintiffs file a similar lawsuit against the Smithsonian Institution after National Air and Space Museum security guards allegedly asked them to leave for wearing beanies with pro-life messages during the March For Life weekend.
The Smithsonian apologised and admitted a security officer made a mistake.
Both museums could still face claims for damages.
