Judge orders teacher who refused to refer to students by their chosen gender identities to be reinstated after recently being suspended for such action.
According to the judge, the actions taken by the school district were ‘unnecessary’ and ‘vindictive’.
This is a huge win for free speech activists everywhere as we are watching as this judge is upholding the first amendment right to free speech.
BREAKING: Tanner Cross, a Virginia elementary school teacher and ADF client who was suspended for raising concerns to the board about a proposed gender policy, has won a temporary injunction and the judge has ordered his reinstatement.
A massive victory for freedom of speech.
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) June 8, 2021
The judge, in this case, reversed the decision of the school board because the teacher’s first amendment right to free speech was clearly violated. The teacher had recently spoken out in defense of his Christian beliefs and explained that by his faith he couldn’t refer to someone by any means other than their scientific biological gender.
The Blaze reports:
A Virginia judge has reinstated a Christian elementary school teacher who was suspended by his school district after voicing opposition to the district’s new transgender-affirming policies.
In a decision issued Tuesday, Judge James E. Plowman Jr. granted Tanner Cross a temporary injunction and ordered that he be immediately reinstated by Loudoun County Public Schools, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom, the legal firm representing the teacher.
In the ruling, Plowman called the district’s suspension of Cross “unnecessary and vindictive.”
Cross, a physical education teacher at Leesburg Elementary School, filed a lawsuit against the district last week after he was placed on administrative leave and barred from school property following a speech he gave at a school board meeting.
During the speech, Cross cited his Christian faith in declaring he refused to “lie” to his students and “defile” God by affirming that “a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa,” as would be required by a pair of new “gender-expansive” district rules.
The policies require all district staff to use a student’s preferred gender pronouns and permitted transgender students to participate in activities consistent with their gender identity, rather than their biological sex.
In a tweet following the court ruling, ADF called the news “massive victory for free speech.”
ADF founder and CEO Michael Farris added in a statement: “Nobody should be punished for expressing concern about a proposed government policy, especially when the government invites comment on that policy. For that reason, we are pleased at the court’s decision to halt Loudoun County Public Schools’ retaliation against Tanner Cross while his lawsuit continues. Educators are just like everybody else — they have ideas and opinions that they should be free to express.”
This goes farther than just referring to a student by their ‘preferred gender pronouns’, this actually raises concerns when it comes to the activities that the children are participating in.
This concern has sparked heated debates across the country as to whether or not boys should be allowed to participate in girl’s sports simply because they identify as the opposite gender.
The confusion this has generated has resulted in biological boys winning competitions that were meant for biological females. As a result, many young women have lost sports competitions and even worse possibly lost scholarships.
Luckily we do have one governor in the country who is willing to take this issue head-on. Republican governor Ron Desantis of Florida has since signed a bill that would bar transgender girls from participating in girl’s sports.
Desantis has taken this to the next level and required that all children in Florida participate in the sport by the gender that they have on their birth certificates.
The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act will empower Florida women & girls to be able to compete on a level playing field. This will help ensure that opportunities for things like college scholarships will be protected for female athletes for years to come.
📺:https://t.co/wQo4Hcl0vG— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) June 1, 2021
The Hill weighs in on the issue:
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a bill Tuesday blocking transgender girls from playing on female sports teams at public schools.
“In Florida, girls are going to play girls sports and boys are going to play boys sports,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said while signing the bill into law, according to The Associated Press (AP). “We’re going to make sure that that’s the reality.”
Florida joins a host of Republican-led states that have implemented restrictions on transgender participation in school sports. But the decision could carry potential financial consequences as entities like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which governs college sports, maintain it will hold sporting championships only in “locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination.”
The Florida law would require an athlete to prove their gender at birth, and student athletes would be capable of suing should a school allow a transgender girl to play on a female team.
Should teachers be punished for pushing back on the gender pronoun issue that has come about over the past few years? Do teachers have to surrender their first amendment right simply because they work for the state?
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