A teacher in the state of Virginia has sued his school for placing him on leave because he refused to use transgender students' pronouns.
During a board meeting at Leesburg Elementary School, Tanner Cross, a gym teacher, stated that he refuses to accept the fact that a person may identify as a sex other than the one they were assigned to at birth. The focus of the board meeting was the adoption of a new policy that requires the teachers to call students by the name and pronouns of their choosing.
It is unknown how many teachers espoused Cross's view, but being a religious man, he stated that the policy would not only 'damage' the students, but it would also 'defile the holy image of God'.
Coach Tanner Cross made an impassioned speech at a Loudoun County school board meeting on Tuesday in relation to new policies about gender identity, including forcing staff to refer to students using the pronoun of their choice. Now he’s been put on leave. https://t.co/uQAZ6SEJRE
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) May 29, 2021
In a 60-minute-long interview, the teacher said:
"I am speaking out of love for those who are suffering from gender dysphoria. I'm a teacher but I serve God first, and I will not affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa because it's against my religion. It's lying to a child, it's abuse to a child, and it's sinning against our God."
Following his comments, the school decided to place the teacher on paid administrative leave on May 27.
According to a report, on June 2, Cross filed a lawsuit against the school alleging that Loudoun County Public Schools administrators have violated his right to free speech along with his right to act in accordance with his religious beliefs.
The defendants are Loudoun school board members, Interim Superintendent Scott Ziegler, and Lucia Villa Sebastian, interim assistant superintendent for human resources and talent development. An excerpt from the lawsuit states:
Cross used his constitutional right to speak up. The core of constitutional liberty in a free society – the ability to comment on public policy under consideration without fear of retaliation – is at stake in this case.
As governor, I will stand up for teachers like Tanner Cross. I am calling on the Loudoun County School Board to reinstate Tanner Cross fully because they have absolutely ignored his constitutional rights.
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) June 1, 2021
If we don’t stand up for our teachers and parents, who will? pic.twitter.com/mI5qGzfzBH
The motion requests for the teacher's reinstatement, along with a temporary restraining order against the school board members, Ziegler and Sebastian.
The motion also states Cross's belief that God created two genders, male and female, and that his religion "commands him to tell the truth and not tell lies".
[h/t: I heart Intelligence]
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