Subscribe to Breaking News
Loading ...Supreme Court Declines Gay Book Suit
10.09.2008 9:55pm EDT
(Washington) The US Supreme Court has declined to hear a case involving the use of a gay-themed book by a Lexington, Massachusetts public school.
Two sets of parents were appealing the dismissal of the case by a federal appeals court in Boston in January.The Supreme Court, as is its custom, did not specify why it would not hear the case. The decision allows the lower court ruling to stand.
A teacher read the book King and King to second-graders at the Estabrook elementary school in April 2006 as part of a lesson about weddings.
Following the reading, the teacher noted that same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts, and that some children have two mommies and others have two daddies.
King and King is aimed at elementary school children and helps teach diversity. The book, by Linda De Haan and Stern Nijland,
tells the story of Prince Bertie who searches for love through a bevy of eligible princesses before falling for Prince Lee.
Parents David and Tonia Parker, and Joseph and Robin Wirthlin, said the school was attempting to indoctrinate their children about an "immoral lifestyle."
The lawsuit said that school officials bypassed their parental rights to raise their children how they wish and in doing so violated their civil rights.
After the book was read to students, Robin Wirthlin complained to the school board that her seven-year-old son should not be exposed to discussions of such at such an early age.
School superintendent Paul Ash said that Lexington schools are committed to "teaching children about the world they live in."
Not satisfied the Wirthlins and the Parkers decided to sue.
Last year U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf ruled that federal courts have decided in other cases that the constitutional right of parents to raise their children does not include the right to restrict what a public school may teach them.
In January a three-judge appeals court panel upheld the ruling.
"Public schools are not obliged to shield individual students from ideas which potentially are religiously offensive, particularly when the school imposes no requirement that the student agree with or affirm those ideas, or even participate in discussions about them," Judge Sandra Lynch wrote in the unanimous decision.
Lynch also said that the parents who brought the suit have no constitutional "right to be free from any reference in public elementary schools to the existence of families in which parents are of different gender combinations."
The Parkers are now home-schooling their children.
Without a comment, and taking no overt position, the Supreme Court has delivered a win for the LGBTQI Community. This is another small step which eventually leads to completing a journey of 500 miles.
And, if the parents want complete control of the eyes and ears of their childen, they can censor the curriculum by doing home schooling, or placing their children in a “censored” private school. Sorry if it hits their pocket book so hard, but that is the price they should pay for such censorship. But that is not a good reason to give them vouchers to remove resources from the public school system.
And the court system did not “legislate from the bench” at all, as I am sure we will hear the “religious wrong” scream at the top of their lungs before long.
That poor Parker kid. Another victim of Christian “home schooling”, which usually involves the bare minimum needed to achieve a passing grade, and spending the rest of the time teaching how evil and immoral the world and its people are for not all having the same views the parents do. I hope the kid is smart enough to get through childhood without being brainwashed.
At least it’s nice to hear that some parts of the country have the guts to stand up for what’s right.
Well, I just read that McDonald’s caved in to the boycott threats and demands of the antigay extremish group called the American Family Association. Mcdonald’s rep sitting on the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce resigned from that and thet position will never again be filled.
Imagine a huge corporation like McDonalds all around the USA, Canada and Europe caving into the demands of AFA when all it had to do was to ignore the AFA.
But McDonald’s being intimidated so easily is amazing. If AFA was universally ignored as the crackpot organization that it is, it would shrivel up for lack of attention.
Even one corporation Bending and bowing to its threats sxtrengthens and emnoldens the AFA. My answer is that I will stop eating McDonald’s food. Their food is not good for me and I see no reason to reward McDonald’s for caving in to the AFA, an implacable enemy of the GLBT communty. McDonald’s once made noises of support for our community.
We see McDonald’s is now no real friend of the gay community, of the gay consumer or of its own gay employees.
AFA said in an e-mailing to my inbox that it was ending its boycott of McDonald’s as it changed course away from the gay community.
No more McDonlads for me. I am supporting only gay-run businesses or those friendly ones that have a long history of ignoring the AFA, etc that are going around to see which corporations will bow to their demands to dump advertising etc. in the gay community.
The far fadical right is waging war against us gays by using intimidation to steer businesses that dare to show support for us away from us.
Again no more McDonald’s burgers etc. for me. McDonald’s is just there to take gay money. Gladly take gay money while bowing and bending to the will of the AFA.
Time to leave McDonalds fast junk food and to patronize our own gay businesses and our own gay restaurants.
Go Supremes!
I commend Lexington schools, and any public institution, that dares to teach children the TRUTH and REALITY of today’s society. I mean, that’s what they exist for, right? If children don’t learn about how diverse the world is, or are challenged to think differently and for themselves, it doesn’t take much to think about where and how they’ll end up being exposed to potentially distorted truths or even outright lies.
I’m glad that I had parents and teachers that were free to teach me what they did, and I’m glad that I was allowed to consciously agree or disagree with any of it.
It is a shame that Parker Jr won’t get an opportunity to be exposed to ideas and views that are different so they can make a choice to form thoughts or beliefs for themselves.
Unfortunately, this will be fuel for the anti-marriage-equality bonfires … they are claiming that (1) churches will lose their tax-exempt status if they refuse to perform same-sex marriages (NOT TRUE!) and that public schools will be required to teach that same-sex marriage is equal to opposite-sex marriage … if it’s LEGAL, it IS! I like the part of the opinion that said parents have no right to demand that public schools not teach things that disagree with their religious beliefs. SOMEBODY needs to go after this home-schooling scam … it’s the second generation of the Southern “Segregationist Academies” that sprung up after Brown v. Board of Education … “See Dick and Jane. Dick is a liberal. See him burn in hell. Burn, Dick, burn!” is not going to equip children to compete in the modern world. Neither is creation “science,” that creepy creationist “museum” in Kentucky (appropriately) notwithstanding.
Cheers,
Bud Clark
San Diego CA USA
It really doesnt surprise many of us who are christian That these institutions try to make wrong seem right.
but in their doing so .Its shame They just bring calamity on those whom they fool.When it could have been avoided .
How many people will die or have to live with aids or sexualy transmitted dieases Because once again those who are suppose to protect made wrong seem right?
These parents need to wake up! The USA has far MORE important issues to be concerned about; than their kids hearing a story about same-sex couples. If these stupid breeders REALLY want to complain about something IMPORTANT, here we go: Americans are losing their jobs, America is in a needless blood-for-oil war, America’s economy hits ROCK BOTTOM, Americans are losing their houses, most of us have no health insurance! All THEY want to bitch about is REAL love. Apparently, they are in loveless, horrible straight marriages.
Robert - I couldn’t agree more! When right-wing Christian wingnuts make hate seem right, everybody suffers. That’s how Hitler rose to power you know!…..Wait, you were talking about gay being wrong…Oh I’m sorry, AIDS is a universal epidemic not just a gay disease. Wait, too stupid to know the word “epidemic?” I’ll stupify my phrases “And Thou Learnst Nothing From Thy Schools” “Thou Dost Be Too Mentally Impared to Support Homosexuality” What are you even doing here anyway? To provide “fair and balanced” counterpoints? Ugh