Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
Parents with children in government schools in Montgomery County in Maryland used to receive notice about instruction on gender and sexuality, with the right to opt out.
Religious parents in particular don’t want the government exposing their children to any curriculum that teaches homosexuality and “transgenderism” are normal. The Bible teaches that homosexuality is an abomination to God. It also teaches that sex outside marriage — the union between one man and one woman — is a sin.
But the Montgomery County School Board decided to deprive parents of notice and the right to opt their children out the “pride” storybooks program with no explanation. Christian, Jewish, and Muslim families filed a lawsuit against the Montgomery County Board of Education for violating their federal and state rights. Becket Law represents the families.
This is what the school district teaches during under the storybook program:
For example, one book tasks three and four-year-olds to search for images from a word list that includes “intersex flag,” “drag queen,” “underwear,” “leather,” and the name of a celebrated LGBTQ activist and sex worker. Another book advocates a child-knows-best approach to gender transitioning…
A lower court ruled against the parents, as did the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Both courts agreed that the parents “failed to demonstrate a cognizable burden to their free exercise of their religion.”
(A dissenting Fourth Circuit judge said that the parents had shown that denying opt-outs burdened their right to exercise their religion and direct the religious upbringing of their children.)
The government seeks to force parents to have their children indoctrinated in ways that violate the parents’ and the children’s religious beliefs and the parents’ right to make decisions about their children’s education and upbringing.
The families have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to restore their right to opt their children out.
“Parents shouldn’t have to take a back seat to anyone when it comes to introducing their children to complex and sensitive issues around gender and sexuality,” said Eric Baxter, vice president and senior counsel at Becket. “Nearly every state requires parental consent before high schoolers can attend sex-ed. Parents should have the right to excuse their elementary school children when related instruction is introduced during story hour.”
Photo credit: Becket Law
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