Protecting children: Thumbs up offered to Supreme Court for ruling on LGBT coercion

A huge thumbs up was being offered to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday from multiple high-profile organizations that work to protect the rights and freedoms of Americans.

In the Mahmoud v. Taylor case, the justices, 6-3, said Montgomery County, Maryland, schools could not force LGBT indoctrination on young children, and the constitutional issues involve religious rights of families, parents, and children.

The decision provides an injunction that parents now can opt their children out of the ideological teachings of the leftist school district.

Liberty Counsel chairman Mat Staver said, “This U.S. Supreme Court has once again upheld that parents have the right to direct the education and provide for the welfare of their children. The First Amendment simply does not allow government schools to require families to sacrifice their religious beliefs for their children to attend school. Parents in all states should be given adequate opportunity to review any instructional material and must be given the ability to opt their children out of instruction that violates their faith.”

The ruling itself warned that the materials the district was using for its indoctrination program were not merely providing information, they were making LGBT choices “normative,” meaning they promoted the alternatives LGBT lifestyle choices as “normal” to the children.

“They are designed to present certain values and beliefs as things to be celebrated, and certain contrary values and beliefs as things to be rejected. Take, for example, the message sent by the books concerning same sex marriage. Many Americans ‘advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned.’ That group includes each of the parents in this case. The storybooks, however, are designed to present the opposite viewpoint to young, impressionable children who are likely to accept without question any moral messages conveyed by their teacher’s instruction,” the ruling said.

Further, said the ruling, “The storybooks present same-sex weddings as occasions for great celebration and suggest that the only rubric for determining whether a marriage is acceptable is whether the individuals concerned ‘love each other.’ The storybooks similarly convey a normative message on the subjects of sex and gender. Many Americans, like the parents in this case, believe that biological sex reflects divine creation, that sex and gender are inseparable, and that children should be encouraged to accept their sex and to live accordingly. The storybooks, however, suggest that it is hurtful, and perhaps even hateful, to hold the view that gender is inextricably bound with biological sex.”

In fact, Montgomery County’s books “impose upon children a set of values and beliefs that are ‘hostile’ to their parents’ religion beliefs.”

ADF spokesman John Bursch said, “The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision is a monumental victory for parents and their fundamental right to make decisions consistent with their religious beliefs about the upbringing and education of their children. Government officials can’t force parents to give up that right or violate their religious beliefs in exchange for a public education.

“In line with American history, tradition, and judicial precedent, the court affirmed that school officials cannot act like their job is to replace parents and their beliefs. Our Constitution forbids schools from indoctrinating children with uniform views on sexuality and gender—hotly debated topics—in conflict with their families’ religious beliefs. We applaud the court’s protection of parents’ right to choose what’s best for their children’s education. We also congratulate our friends at Becket Fund for Religious Liberty for their hard-fought win in this important case.”

Kayla Toney, of First Liberty Institute, said, “The U.S. Supreme Court today strengthened the rights of parents by ensuring that they have a say when it comes to the education of their children, especially when families’ religious beliefs are at stake. Our children do not belong to the state, and the government should not be able to hide what it’s teaching in schools simply because it doesn’t agree with parents’ values or religious beliefs.”

Becket explained, “The new ‘inclusivity’ books were announced in 2022 for students in pre-K through fifth grade. Instead of focusing on basic principles of respect and kindness, however, the books champion controversial ideology around gender and sexuality. 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, telling students that a decision to transition doesn’t have to ‘make sense.’ Teachers are instructed to say doctors only ‘guess’ when identifying a newborn’s sex anyway. The School Board revoked notice and opt-outs for these storybooks, which violates Maryland law, the Board’s policies, and the advice of its own elementary school principals. ”