Leroy N. Soetoro wrote:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/us/politics/supreme-court-lgbtq-
books.html
Maryland parents have a religious right to withdraw their children from
classes on days that stories with gay and transgender themes are
discussed, the court ruled.
June 27, 2025
Updated 11:21 a.m. ET
Public schools in Maryland must allow parents with religious objections to >> withdraw their children from classes in which storybooks with L.G.B.T.Q.
themes are discussed, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday.
The vote was 6 to 3, with the court’s liberal members in dissent.
The case extended a winning streak for claims of religious freedom at the
court, gains that have often come at the expense of other values, notably
gay rights.
The case concerned a new curriculum adopted in 2022 for prekindergarten
through the fifth grade by the Montgomery County Public Schools,
Maryland’s largest school system.
The storybooks included “Pride Puppy,” an alphabet primer about a family >> whose puppy gets lost at a Pride parade; “Love, Violet,” about a girl who
develops a crush on her female classmate; “Born Ready,” about a
transgender boy; and “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” about a same-sex union. >>
At first, the school system gave parents notice when the storybooks were
to be discussed, along with the opportunity to have their children
excused. But school administrators soon eliminated the advance notice and
opt-out policy, saying it was hard to administer, led to absenteeism and
risked “exposing students who believe the storybooks represent them and
their families to social stigma and isolation.”
Parents of several faiths sued, saying the books violated the First
Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion. The books, their >> complaint said, “promote one-sided transgender ideology, encourage gender >> transitioning and focus excessively on romantic infatuation.”
The parents said they did not seek to remove the books from school
libraries and classrooms but only to shield their children from having to
discuss them. (The school system has since withdrawn two of the seven
books, including “Pride Puppy.” In court papers, officials said the books
had been re-evaluated under standard procedures but did not elaborate.)
The school system defended the curriculum, telling the justices in a brief >> that it featured “a handful of storybooks featuring lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender or queer characters for use in the language-arts
curriculum, alongside the many books already in the curriculum that
feature heterosexual characters in traditional gender roles.”
The Supreme Court has in recent years steadily expanded the role of
religion in public life.
The court has ruled in favor of a web designer who said she did not want
to create sites for same-sex marriages, a high school football coach who
said he had a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard line after his
team’s games and a Catholic social services agency in Philadelphia that
said it could defy city rules and refuse to work with same-sex couples who >> had applied to take in foster children.
Lower courts ruled against the Maryland parents.
“There’s no evidence at present that the board’s decision not to permit
opt-outs compels the parents or their children to change their religious
beliefs or conduct, either at school or elsewhere,” Judge G. Steven Agee >> wrote for the majority of a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals >> for the Fourth Circuit.
Judge Agee, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, added that
“simply hearing about other views does not necessarily exert pressure to >> believe or act differently than one’s religious faith requires.”
In dissent, Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., who was appointed by
President Trump, said the parents had made a modest request.
“They do not claim the use of the books is itself unconstitutional,” he >> wrote. “And they do not seek to ban them. Instead, they only want to opt >> their children out of the instruction involving such texts.”
The school board, in its Supreme Court brief in the case, Mahmoud v.
Taylor, No. 24-297, wrote that the dispute was based on a misunderstanding >> about what lessons students were intended to draw from the books.
“The storybooks themselves do not instruct about gender or sexuality,” the
brief said. “They are not textbooks. They merely introduce students to
characters who are L.G.B.T.Q. or have L.G.B.T.Q. family members, and those >> characters’ experiences and points of view.”
"L.G.B.T.Q. forced acceptance"
For me, LGBTQ is Democrats' Achilles' Heel.
It is bizarre to me that school communities are sending encouragement to students to change gender.
The only reason I can think of is a dearth of sluts in the school and manufacturing more girls as a solution.Funny comment, but not based on facts.
On 6/27/2025 2:36 PM, Praetor Mandrake wrote:
Leroy N. Soetoro wrote:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/us/politics/supreme-court-lgbtq-
books.html
Maryland parents have a religious right to withdraw their children
from classes on days that stories with gay and transgender themes
are discussed, the court ruled.
June 27, 2025
Updated 11:21 a.m. ET
Public schools in Maryland must allow parents with religious
objections to withdraw their children from classes in which
storybooks with L.G.B.T.Q. themes are discussed, the Supreme Court
ruled on Friday.
The vote was 6 to 3, with the court’s liberal members in dissent. >>>
The case extended a winning streak for claims of religious freedom
at the court, gains that have often come at the expense of other
values, notably gay rights.
The case concerned a new curriculum adopted in 2022 for
prekindergarten through the fifth grade by the Montgomery County
Public Schools, Maryland’s largest school system.
The storybooks included “Pride Puppy,†an alphabet primer about >>> a family whose puppy gets lost at a Pride parade; “Love,
Violet,†about a girl who develops a crush on her female
classmate; “Born Ready,†about a transgender boy; and “Uncle
Bobby’s Wedding,†about a same-sex union.
At first, the school system gave parents notice when the storybooks
were to be discussed, along with the opportunity to have their
children excused. But school administrators soon eliminated the
advance notice and opt-out policy, saying it was hard to administer,
led to absenteeism and risked “exposing students who believe the
storybooks represent them and their families to social stigma and
isolation.â€
Parents of several faiths sued, saying the books violated the First
Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion. The
books, their complaint said, “promote one-sided transgender
ideology, encourage gender transitioning and focus excessively on
romantic infatuation.â€
The parents said they did not seek to remove the books from school
libraries and classrooms but only to shield their children from
having to discuss them. (The school system has since withdrawn two
of the seven books, including “Pride Puppy.†In court papers, >>> officials said the books had been re-evaluated under standard
procedures but did not elaborate.)
The school system defended the curriculum, telling the justices in a
brief that it featured “a handful of storybooks featuring lesbian, >>> gay, bisexual, transgender or queer characters for use in the
language-arts curriculum, alongside the many books already in the
curriculum that feature heterosexual characters in traditional
gender roles.â€
The Supreme Court has in recent years steadily expanded the role of
religion in public life.
The court has ruled in favor of a web designer who said she did not
want to create sites for same-sex marriages, a high school football
coach who said he had a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard
line after his team’s games and a Catholic social services agency >>> in Philadelphia that said it could defy city rules and refuse to
work with same-sex couples who had applied to take in foster
children.
Lower courts ruled against the Maryland parents.
“There’s no evidence at present that the board’s decision not
to permit opt-outs compels the parents or their children to change
their religious beliefs or conduct, either at school or
elsewhere,†Judge G. Steven Agee wrote for the majority of a
three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth
Circuit.
Judge Agee, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, added
that “simply hearing about other views does not necessarily exert
pressure to believe or act differently than one’s religious faith >>> requires.â€
In dissent, Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., who was appointed by
President Trump, said the parents had made a modest request.
“They do not claim the use of the books is itself
unconstitutional,†he wrote. “And they do not seek to ban them. >>> Instead, they only want to opt their children out of the instruction
involving such texts.â€
The school board, in its Supreme Court brief in the case, Mahmoud v.
Taylor, No. 24-297, wrote that the dispute was based on a
misunderstanding about what lessons students were intended to draw
from the books.
“The storybooks themselves do not instruct about gender or
sexuality,†the brief said. “They are not textbooks. They merely
introduce students to characters who are L.G.B.T.Q. or have
L.G.B.T.Q. family members, and those characters’ experiences and
points of view.â€
"L.G.B.T.Q. forced acceptance"
For me, LGBTQ is Democrats' Achilles' Heel.
Somewhat; but see more below.
It is bizarre to me that school communities are sending encouragement
to students to change gender.
*No* schools are doing that. *Some* schools have made a point of
offering support to children who are "gender confused," but they are
not "encouraging" them to change gender. That's a right-wingnut lie.
Don't fall for it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/us/politics/supreme-court-lgbtq- books.html
Maryland parents have a religious right to withdraw their children
from classes on days that stories with gay and transgender themes are discussed, the court ruled.
June 27, 2025
Updated 11:21 a.m. ET
Public schools in Maryland must allow parents with religious
objections to withdraw their children from classes in which storybooks
with L.G.B.T.Q. themes are discussed, the Supreme Court ruled on
Friday.
The vote was 6 to 3, with the court’s liberal members in dissent.
The case extended a winning streak for claims of religious freedom at
the court, gains that have often come at the expense of other values,
notably gay rights.
The case concerned a new curriculum adopted in 2022 for
prekindergarten through the fifth grade by the Montgomery County
Public Schools, Maryland’s largest school system.
The storybooks included “Pride Puppy,” an alphabet primer about a
family whose puppy gets lost at a Pride parade; “Love, Violet,” about
a girl who develops a crush on her female classmate; “Born Ready,”
about a transgender boy; and “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” about a same-sex union.
At first, the school system gave parents notice when the storybooks
were to be discussed, along with the opportunity to have their
children excused. But school administrators soon eliminated the
advance notice and opt-out policy, saying it was hard to administer,
led to absenteeism and risked “exposing students who believe the
storybooks represent them and their families to social stigma and isolation.”
Parents of several faiths sued, saying the books violated the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion. The books,
their complaint said, “promote one-sided transgender ideology,
encourage gender transitioning and focus excessively on romantic infatuation.”
The parents said they did not seek to remove the books from school
libraries and classrooms but only to shield their children from having
to discuss them. (The school system has since withdrawn two of the
seven books, including “Pride Puppy.” In court papers, officials said
the books had been re-evaluated under standard procedures but did not elaborate.)
The school system defended the curriculum, telling the justices in a
brief that it featured “a handful of storybooks featuring lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender or queer characters for use in the
language-arts curriculum, alongside the many books already in the
curriculum that feature heterosexual characters in traditional gender roles.”
The Supreme Court has in recent years steadily expanded the role of
religion in public life.
The court has ruled in favor of a web designer who said she did not
want to create sites for same-sex marriages, a high school football
coach who said he had a constitutional right to pray at the 50-yard
line after his team’s games and a Catholic social services agency in Philadelphia that said it could defy city rules and refuse to work
with same-sex couples who had applied to take in foster children.
Lower courts ruled against the Maryland parents.
“There’s no evidence at present that the board’s decision not to
permit opt-outs compels the parents or their children to change their religious beliefs or conduct, either at school or elsewhere,” Judge G. Steven Agee wrote for the majority of a three-judge panel of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Judge Agee, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, added that “simply hearing about other views does not necessarily exert pressure
to believe or act differently than one’s religious faith requires.”
In dissent, Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., who was appointed by
President Trump, said the parents had made a modest request.
“They do not claim the use of the books is itself unconstitutional,”
he wrote. “And they do not seek to ban them. Instead, they only want
to opt their children out of the instruction involving such texts.”
The school board, in its Supreme Court brief in the case, Mahmoud v.
Taylor, No. 24-297, wrote that the dispute was based on a
misunderstanding about what lessons students were intended to draw
from the books.
“The storybooks themselves do not instruct about gender or sexuality,” the brief said. “They are not textbooks. They merely introduce
students to characters who are L.G.B.T.Q. or have L.G.B.T.Q. family
members, and those characters’ experiences and points of view.”
"L.G.B.T.Q. forced acceptance"
| Sysop: | Keyop |
|---|---|
| Location: | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK |
| Users: | 715 |
| Nodes: | 16 (2 / 14) |
| Uptime: | 05:29:48 |
| Calls: | 12,100 |
| Calls today: | 8 |
| Files: | 15,003 |
| Messages: | 6,517,908 |
| Posted today: | 1 |