XPost: alt.education, md.politics, alt.books
XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, sac.politics

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Tuesday
signaled support for the religious rights of parents in Maryland who want
to remove their children from elementary school classes using storybooks
with LGBTQ characters.

The court seemed likely to find that the Montgomery County school system,
in suburban Washington, could not require elementary school children to
sit through lessons involving the books if parents expressed religious objections to the material.

The case is the latest dispute involving religion to come before the
court. The justices have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious
discrimination in recent years.

“I’m surprised this is the hill to die on in terms of not respecting
religious liberty,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh said, citing the county’s
diverse population and Maryland’s history as a haven for Catholics.

The county school board introduced the storybooks as part of an effort to better reflect the district’s diversity.

Parents sued after the school system stopped allowing them to pull their
kids from lessons that included the books. The parents argue that public schools cannot force kids to participate in instruction that violates
their faith, and they pointed to the opt-out provisions in sex education classes.

The schools said allowing children to opt out of the lessons had become disruptive. Lower courts backed the schools, prompting the parents’ appeal
to the Supreme Court.


Five books are at issue in the high court case, touching on the same
themes found in classic stories that include Snow White, Cinderella and
Peter Pan, the school system’s lawyers wrote.

In “Prince and Knight,” two men fall in love after they rescue the
kingdom, and each other. In “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” a niece worries that
her uncle will not have as much time for her after he gets married. His
partner is a man.

“Love, Violet” deals with a girl’s anxiety about giving a valentine to
another girl. “Born Ready” is the story of a transgender boy’s decision to share his gender identity with his family and the world. “Intersection
Allies” describes nine characters of varying backgrounds, including one
who is gender-fluid.

Billy Moges, a board member of the Kids First parents’ group that sued
over the books, said the content is sexual, confusing and inappropriate
for young schoolchildren.

The writers’ group Pen America said in a court filing what the parents
want is “a constitutionally suspect book ban by another name.” Pen America reported more than 10,000 books were banned in the last school year.

A decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor is expected by early summer.

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-lgbtq-books-religion-maryland- 069d155fa862d2a16619fc7f513819ab

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