The 3 - January 28, 2024

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, spotlights a story out of California, where two teachers had sued their school district due to a policy that requires teachers who have knowledge of a student's "gender transition" to not tell the parents; they were put on leave, and not reinstated by a federal judge.  Also, a chaplain at a college in the U.K. who had lost his job because of a speech against LGBT ideology, has experienced affirmation from a third governing body, but his local church officials will not allow him to work with children.  Plus, a Maine legislative committee was unable to get even a single vote on a bill that would permit children to be removed from homes due to their parent's refusal to affirm their transgender identity.

Teachers put on leave because of objections to keep secrets from parents reinstated

Two teachers at Rincon Middle School in Escondido, California, have received their jobs back, as of January 16, thanks to a federal judge's directive.  CBN.com reported that Elizabeth Mirabelli and Lori Ann West sued the Escondido Unified School District "...and the state's department of education after the administration established a policy that required teachers to not only address trans-identifying students by their preferred pronoun, but it required them to hide from parents their student's gender confusion."

The article goes on to say that, "West and Mirabelli requested a religious accommodation against the policy but were only granted the accommodation for how they addressed students."  They were placed on administrative leave for opposing the policy.

CBN states:

"I believe in the teachings of the Bible," West told Fox News. "(Mirabelli and I) follow the laws in the Bible, and that's a wonderful thing. And it seems like, at my school, we have been put down for that. They want to stifle our voices."

Mirabelli contacted the Thomas More Society and attorneys filed a federal complaint against the school district and the state board.

Judge Roger Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California issued a preliminary injunction last September in favor of Mirabelli and West.

He "ordered the teachers be reinstated into their positions."  The district didn't comply, so the judge ordered the district to reinstate the teachers by January 16.

Chaplain in UK who was fired due to opposition to LGBT agenda defended by third governmental body, still rejected by Church

Bernard Randall is a chaplain ordained by the Church of England - he was, according to The Christian Post, "...sacked by Trent College in Derbyshire after he preached a sermon to pupils in the school chapel in which he expressed the church's own official position on marriage and human sexuality."

A governing body in the U.K., the Disclosure and Barring Service has stated, "'it would not be appropriate' to take action against Bernard Randall...," according to the article, making it possible for Randall to work with children. Two other bodies: "the government's anti-terrorism program, Prevent, and the Teaching Regulation Agency," have likewise not taken action against Randall."

But the Church of England has not been so charitable.  The Christian Post article states...

...the Church of England Diocese of Derby, after carrying out its own safeguarding investigation into Randall, concluded that he posed a "moderate risk to children" and vulnerable adults. Bizarrely, the diocese's safeguarding team concluded that "the Church itself is a risk factor." He has not been allowed to officiate in church services since.

Randall said, "...By blacklisting me as a safeguarding risk to children, the CofE at the highest level, and locally, has been complicit in allowing the far-left Queer Theory agenda of E&C and similar groups in our schools."

Maine legislative committee fails to garner even one vote for transgender custody bill

A bill was filed in The House of Representatives in the state of Maine which would protect a person who removes a child from parents who do not support the child's identification as transgender and subjects the child to harmful procedures that are falsely described as helping a child change his or her "gender."  According to a report at The Daily Signal:

The Maine bill, LD 1735, would prioritize “gender-affirming care” in custody disputes. It would prohibit courts from considering that a person applying for custody had taken a child from someone else with legal custody—such as parents—if that person removed the child “for the purposes of obtaining gender-affirming health care… for the child” from a state that restricts this experimental “care.”

The article goes on to say, "The bill would grant Maine courts 'temporary emergency jurisdiction' in cases where the child must be protected 'because the child has been unable to obtain gender-affirming health care or gender-affirming mental health care.'”

But the bill has dramatically failed to advance, according to the article, which says that last week:

A joint standing legislative committee between the Maine House of Representatives and the Maine Senate voted that the transgender custody bill LD 1735 “ought not to pass” Thursday.

According to footage of the committee posted online, the motion that the bill “ought not to pass” passed 12-0.

Rep. Katrina Smith, a member of the committee, stated, “Today we won a victory for our children who have been fooled into thinking they are not perfect the way God made them,” adding, “With the death of LD 1735 we have proven that when evil is brought out of the darkness and exposed in the light, it can be vanquished. The people spoke loudly and it mattered.”

The 3 - January 21, 2024

This week's edition of The 3, featuring three stories of relevance to the Christian community, highlights pro-life legislative action in the U.S. House last week, the week leading up to the March for Life in Washington, DC.  Also, last week, it was revealed that a government agency has been monitoring financial transactions including key words, including those associated with "religious texts," to try to generate suspicion. And, thousands gathered in the nation's capital last week to participate in the annual March for Life.

U.S. House passes two pro-life bills

Coinciding with the March for Life in Washington, DC, last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills that support women and their unborn children.  According to the website, Pregnancy Help News:

The Pregnant Students' Rights Act aims to inform pregnant students of their rights and the resources available to them at U.S. colleges and universities. The bill also amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to mandate that institutions of higher education to provide students with the following:

1. A list of the resources that exist to help pregnant students and students who are caring for a baby after birth.

2. Information about the accommodation available for pregnant and parenting students.

3. Information on how to file a complaint with the Department of Education based on Title IX and file a discrimination complaint with the institution of higher education.

Sponsor of the bill, Iowa Representative Ashley Hinson said this on the House floor, according to her website:

Higher education institutions and universities have a responsibility to empower all their students to succeed – including pregnant students.

There are many organizations that provide physical and emotional support for new and soon-to-be moms, and pregnant students should know about these resources on college campuses. They deserve to be treated with respect and surrounded with care and love.

I have visited pregnancy resource centers in Iowa and met with those who have dedicated themselves to the cause of life – many of whom have traveled to Washington to March for life this weekend.

And it has been inspiring to see the pro-life community spring into action to help expecting moms and their babies thrive.

Another bill passing the House is the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act, which, according to the website, blocks the Department of Health and Human Services from finalizing the Biden Administration’s proposed rule change governing the Temporary Assistance to Need Families (TANF) program regarding payments for any pregnancy center.  How important is this?  Pregnancy Help News notes, "Numerous states fund Alternatives to Abortion programs, including Louisiana, which currently provided $1 million to pregnancy centers via TANF), Indiana, which currently provided $2.5 million through TANF, and Ohio, which provided $7.5 million between FY20 to FY21."

LifeNews.com quoted from New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith, who said: “There are more than 2,700 pregnancy resource centers throughout the United States—each and every one of them an oasis of love, compassion, empathy, respect, and care for both mothers and their precious children. " He also referred to a new Marist poll that "found that 83 percent of all Americans...support—I say again support—pregnancy resource centers.”

Furthermore, two bills that protect the ongoing work of pregnancy resource centers were introduced into the House.  The Pregnancy Help News site notes: 

The Pregnancy Center Support Act would implement a 50 percent tax credit to incentivize voluntary contributions to pregnancy centers that provide life-affirming support to help pregnant mothers to choose life for their babies.

The other bill is called the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act, which would, "annul the Biden administration proposed rule that would disallow Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program funds to pregnancy centers even when they meet one or more of TANF’s statutory purposes."

Certain search terms in financial transactions being flagged

National Religious Broadcasters issued a story this week that reported on the findings of the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which, according to the NRB website, showed that certain "search terms" related to financial transactions were being used for "scrutiny by federal investigators."

Not only were terms that are associated to political opposition to the current Administration included, but according to NRB:

The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) monitors financial transactions to identify instances of money laundering for domestic and international terrorism. According to the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, this office sent materials to financial institutions recommending the use of generic terms like “MAGA” or “Trump” to identify suspicious private transactions. FinCEN also recommended monitoring private transactions for “extremism” indicators such as “the purchase of books (including religious texts) and subscriptions to other media containing extremist views.”

Now, we recognize that not all Christians are Trump supporters or could be described as "MAGA," which stands for the former President's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again." But, as the NRB article points out, in Iowa, "According to data reported by The Washington Post, significant gains among Evangelical Christians were a key factor in former President Donald J. Trump’s sweeping Iowa caucus victory, with Trump’s share in the most predominantly Evangelical counties growing by upwards of 35 points."

So, there is significant evangelical support for Trump - but whether you, as a believer support Trump or not, this monitoring of financial transactions should be a cause for concern. And, as NRB reports, "A Fox News roundup reported a slew of negative media characterizations of Christians in response to the Iowa caucuses: that Evangelicals are racist, anti-democracy, idol-worshipping, authoritarian, inauthentic, vengeful, violent, fascist, and jihadist, among other things."

The chairman of that House subcommittee, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio wrote to Noah Bishoff, former Director of the Office of Stakeholder Integration and Engagement in the Strategic Operations Division of FinCEN, saying, “FinCEN urged large financial institutions to comb through the private transactions of their customers for suspicious charges on the basis of protected political and religious expression.” NRB also reported:

In a separate letter to FBI director Christopher Wray dated Jan. 17, Jordan noted that the committee and select subcommittee had also obtained documents “indicating that FBI personnel in the Office of Private Sector prepared an official report that broadly characterized certain political beliefs as indicative of domestic violent extremism.” The FBI then distributed that report to financial institutions.

Thousands brave wintry weather to take part in March for Life

The second March for Life since the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade took place last Friday, and a crowd of between 50 and 100-thousand people was expected to attend. Representatives of pro-life advocacy organizations and ministries, governmental officials, and Faith Radio programmers Jim Daly of Focus on the Family and Greg Laurie of A New Beginning were on hand.   Daly and Laurie were part of the speaker lineup.

According to Nicole Hunt, writing for The Daily Citizen of Focus on the Family, the work of pregnancy resource centers was lauded as an essential key to saving babies and ministering to women; she wrote:

Jeanine Mancini, President of the March for Life, opened the rally by declaring that the pro-life movement is about helping mothers and babies flourish. According to Mancini, 60% of women who chose abortion would have chosen life if they had more support. Mancini told the crowd that these moms need to know they can do this, and we will help them.

The March for Life’s theme this year, “With Every Woman, For Every Child,” highlights the phenomenal work being done by pregnancy resource centers.

Pregnancy resource centers, Mancini said, are the “backbone of the pro-life movement.”

In 2022, pregnancy resources centers across the nation provided $358 million in resources to women and families experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. Those resource services included housing, counseling, prenatal medical care, baby supplies, diapers, clothing, formula, parenting classes, adoption support, and more. According to Mancini, 83% of Americans support pregnancy resource centers. 

And, the day after the march, there was strategy being discussed.  I came across an article at The Guardian website, which reported this:

The activists had gathered in the ballroom for the National Pro-Life Summit, the conclusion of a two-day extravaganza of anti-abortion activism in the US capital. On Friday, many had walked through the snowy streets of Washington to support the March for Life, the largest annual anti-abortion event in the United States.

But while the March for Life is a mass show of force, the National Pro-Life Summit is far more focused. It aims to arm the foot soldiers of the anti-abortion movement, high school- and college-aged activists, with the education and energy they need to effectively advocate against abortion rights – especially in an election year.

In the months since the US supreme court overturned Roe, abortion rights supporters have repeatedly defeated abortion foes in ballot referendums, even in conservative strongholds such as Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio.

This string of losses, though, has seemingly hardened the stance of summit attendees and speakers. Rather than compromising, summit speakers urged young people: Don’t give up. Do more.

The 3 - January 14, 2024

This week's edition of The 3, which features three stories of relevance to the Christian community, features news Kentucky where are former county clerk is still fighting legal action against her for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses.  Also, the U.S. Supreme Court will be weighing in on whether or not ER doctors can be forced to provide abortions, staying a lower court ruling and protecting doctors, for now.  Plus, in Ohio, the legislature is on its way to overriding the governor's veto of a bill that would protect children from harmful "gender-change" procedures and prevent boys from competing in female sports. 

Former KY clerk hit will large legal bill for standing against same-sex marriage

The Obergefell decision from the U.S. Supreme Court was handed down in 2015.  Now, in 2024, a former clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky, is still involved in litigation against her.  In fact, at this moment, a court has ruled that she owes some $350,000 in legal fees.

Liberty Counsel has been representing the clerk, Kim Davis, since that initial action.  On its website, the Christian legal organization states:

Liberty Counsel will file a motion this month in Ermold v. Davis to ask the U.S. District Court of Eastern Kentucky to reverse the jury verdict against former Rowan County Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis who was sued by two same-sex couples for not issuing them marriage licenses. In September 2023, the Ermold plaintiffs asked for $50,000 each in damages and a jury awarded them a total of $100,000. Judge David Bunning has now awarded the plaintiffs an additional $246,000 in attorney’s fees and $14,000 in expenses.

What is worth considering is that in the other case, Yates v. Davis, the jury did not award the plaintiffs.  The Liberty Counsel website says: 

During the trial, two juries heard the same evidence and the same arguments in both cases. The jury in the Yates case awarded zero damages because that is what the evidence required. The plaintiffs in that case originally asked for $300,000 in damages.

However, without any evidentiary support, the Ermold jury reached a verdict of $50,000 for each plaintiff. The evidence presented at trial simply does not support that verdict because there were no lost wages and they presented no supporting testimony regarding emotional injury. The Ermold jury verdict is unsound and easily sets this case up for an eventual route to the U.S. Supreme Court where religious freedom will be central to the argument along with the issue that the 2015 case of Obergefell v. Hodges was wrongly decided and should be overturned.

The website article also notes, "This latest judgment now allows Liberty Counsel to ask the Court to reverse the jury’s verdict against Davis because there was insufficient evidence to award the plaintiffs monetary damages. If the motion is denied, Liberty Counsel will then appeal the case to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals."

Supreme Court allows Idaho to prevent ER doctors from performing abortions

Just days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit prevented the federal government from requiring emergency room physicians from having to perform abortions, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it had placed a ruling against the state of Idaho on hold pending its review of the case.  Alliance Defending Freedom, on its website, stated on Tuesday, January 9:

The U.S. Supreme Court Friday halted a lower court ruling that allowed the Biden administration to misuse the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act to force emergency room doctors to perform abortions in violation of Idaho’s Defense of Life Act. Idaho’s law puts the lives of women and their unborn children first, preventing physicians from ending an unborn child’s life unless doing so is necessary to save the life of the mother. The stay issued in State of Idaho v. United States of America will remain in effect until the high court decides the case later this year, allowing Idaho to continue to protect the lives of women and their children as the litigation continues.

The website quotes from ADF Senior Counsel Erin Hawley, who serves as Vice President of the ADF Center for Life and Regulatory Practice, who said: “The government has no business forcing emergency room physicians to violate their duty to provide life-saving care to all, including unborn children. We are proud to serve alongside the state of Idaho to ensure doctors can freely and safely serve women and their families.”

Ohio House overrides governor's veto of SAFE Act

It's called the SAFE Act, standing for Save Adolescents from Experimentation.  The Ohio legislature had passed the legislation recently, only to have it vetoed by the governor, who issued executive action addressing but a part of the comprehensive action provided for in the bill.

Now, the bill is on its way to a veto override, and the House of Representatives took the first step last week.  The Washington Stand reported that the House "...voted 65-27 to override Governor Mike DeWine’s veto of Substitute H.B. 68, more than the 60 votes required."  The article goes on to say:

The measure combines the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act — which shields children from transgender puberty blockers, cross-sex hormone injections, and surgeries — with the Save Women’s Sports Act, which prohibits men from competing in girls’ sports or sharing their locker rooms. It also prevents courts from denying or limiting custody to a parent who refuses to “affirm” their child’s transgender identity and safeguards state taxpayers from funding minors’ transgender procedures through Medicaid.

The vote to override actually received four more votes than the original passage last month, according to the article. The article quotes from David Mahan, who is the policy director at the Center for Christian Virtue n Ohio, who said, “Ohio and the entire nation have spoken. It’s not okay to chemically sterilize and mutilate children, and no clinic can transform little girls into little boys with pills and scalpels..."

The Washington Stand pointed out:

Leaders in the state’s right-to-life movement supported the bill, which would reduce the abortion industry’s profits. “From our earliest days, Cincinnati Right to Life has stood against Planned Parenthood’s pro-abortion, anti-person agenda which tragically now includes being a top advocat[e] and provider of gender-altering harm to minors and adults. Planned Parenthood believes abortion and gender mutilation ‘go hand in hand’ while also believing a child as young as two can be questioning their gender.” Right to Life of Northeast Ohio also posted several supportive messages.

And, that's important, considering the allegations that Planned Parenthood spent and misrepresented its way to the passage of a constitutional amendment in the state in November that would essentially legalize abortions in the state.  And, there have been reports of legislative action to alter the effect of that amendment, which did not go through the Ohio legislature.

The 3 - January 7, 2024

This week's edition of The 3, features a major ruling in federal court that would prevent ER physicians from being forced to perform abortions. Also, a New Year's Eve celebration went sideways for a Christian man in India who was arrested for praying.  And, the governor of Ohio made a surprising decision to veto a bill that would protect children from gender-change treatments and procedures in his state. 

Court says Administration can't force ER doctors to perform abortions

It is certainly apparent that this Administration wants to make sure as many abortions are preformed as possible.  And, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom website, a federal court dealt a blow to the government's aggressive promotion of abortion; in this case, preventing emergency room physicians from being forced to terminate the life of an unborn child.

The website notes:

In a pivotal victory for women, children, and healthcare professionals, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Biden administration cannot illegally use federal law to force emergency room doctors to perform abortions.

ADF attorneys representing the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, alongside the state of Texas, asked the court to keep in place a lower court ruling halting the Biden administration from employing the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act to force doctors to provide elective abortions in emergency rooms. The appeals court unanimously agreed.

ADF Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Ryan Bangert stated, “Doctors shouldn’t be forced to break the Hippocratic Oath, and they shouldn’t have to choose between violating their deeply held beliefs or facing stiff financial penalties and being barred from the Medicare program..."

On the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America website, State Policy Director Katie Daniel is quoted as saying:

“Early in 2024, the Court has delivered a big win for babies and mothers by halting a key piece of Biden’s pro-abortion agenda. EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, requires consideration for both patients – mother and child. It is no grounds for forcing doctors to carry out abortions even against their better medical judgment. Two federal rulings now have made that crystal clear, rejecting the Biden administration’s twisted and illegal moves. In the Dobbs era, 24 states have laws protecting babies in the womb from brutal abortions, and every one of them also ensures life-saving care for pregnant mothers during medical emergencies..."

Christian in India arrested for prayer - at home!

In an astonishing expression of the heavy hand of government in carrying out persecution of a Christian, a man in India was arrested simply for praying in his home. Christian Today reported:

Police in Uttar Pradesh detained a Christian, along with a guest, for praying in his own house on New Year’s Eve in Maharajganj district yesterday.

Pastor Raj Kishore along with some of his friends had gathered in his own house for New Years’ Eve in Sonbarasa village on December 31, when the Kothibari police reached his house around 11 pm and detained him and a friend at the complaint of a neighbour.

The police detained him along with Raj Kumar alleging he was carrying out forced conversion in his house.

The article says that Kishore's wife, Bhagwanti, "denied the allegation of any kind of conversion taking place in her house." She said to a source affiliated with the family that she, her husband, and others were "sitting and praying peacefully in her house when the police at the 'false complaint of someone' detained her husband." Also, Christian Today relates this: "Appealing to the fundamental right to religious freedom given in Article 25 of the Indian Constitution, Bhagwanti told the source that they have the right to worship whom they want to, and read religious scriptures of whatever religion they want to."

OH Governor vetoes bill protecting children from gender mutilation

State after state across the nation have taken action to protect children from harmful, so-called "gender transition" treatments and surgeries.  The Ohio legislature did the right thing when it passed legislation that would prevent these procedures from minors and would keep biological males out of female sports.  But, the governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine vetoed the bill.  The Daily Signal reported that the governor said, "Were House Bill 68 to become law, Ohio would be saying that the state, that the government, knows better what is best for a child than the two people who love that child the most, the parents..."  He said that an administrative solution might be more effective and survive court scrutiny.

Bill sponsor Rep. Gary Click said, “While I commend him for those efforts, The SAFE Act has been thoroughly vetted through two general assemblies, both chambers of the legislature, and numerous witnesses...I have invited the administration to participate in the process from the beginning and continue to believe that we would have benefited sooner if that had been accomplished.”

Meanwhile the Ohio legislature is expected to consider votes to override the veto, and later in the week, according to The Daily Signal, Governor DeWine "...signed an 'emergency' executive order Friday banning transgender surgeries for minors, one week after he vetoed a bill that would have had a similar effect."  The article notes:

The bill would also have banned cross-sex hormones and so-called puberty blockers for children, measures DeWine’s executive order apparently omits. The bill would also have addressed fairness in women’s sports, an issue DeWine’s order also does not address.

The 3 - December 24, 2023

This week's edition of The 3, focusing on three stories of relevance to the Christian community, includes a significant ruling out of Connecticut that provides hope for girls being able to compete in sporting events without boys being allowed.  Also, there are school board induction ceremonies that have occurred that feature the inductees begin sworn in on objectionable books, rather than the Bible.  And, a Virginia teacher who would not use requested "gender" pronouns has won a court victory.

CT ruling in favor of boys playing in girls sports back in play after appeals court ruling

The issue of boys presenting as girls playing in girls' athletic competition continues to be an issue across the nation.  A premier case in the courts regarding the issue has essentially been reinstated by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.  CBN.com reported that:

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated a lawsuit filed by four female track and field athletes who are challenging their athletic conference's policy that allows males who identify as females to compete based on their gender identity.

Soule v. Connecticut Association of Schools claims the conference's policy violates Title IX and the Second Circuit ruling now allows the case to proceed in federal district court.

Christiana Holcomb of Alliance Defending Freedom, which is providing the legal representation for the young ladies, is quoted as saying: "Forcing girls to be spectators in their own sports is completely at odds with Title IX, a federal law designed to create equal opportunities for women in education and athletics," adding, "Connecticut's policy violates that law and reverses nearly 50 years of advances for women."

The backstory, according to CBN:

In 2017, two male athletes began competing in Connecticut girls' high school track.

In just three years, those two males broke 17 girls' track meet records, deprived girls of more than 85 opportunities to advance to the next level of competition, and took 15 women's state track championship titles, according to ADF.

Elected school board officials exchange Bibles for objectionable books for swearing in

Even though responsible parents are objecting to obscene, even pornographic material being made available to students, there are those who are doubling down.  One such instance occurred recently in a large school district in Pennsylvania.  The Daily Signal reported that the new President of the Central Bucks school district, Karen Smith...

...chose to place her hand not on a Bible but on a stack of frequently banned books, including “Flamer,” “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” Beyond Magenta,” “Lily and Dunkin,” and “The Bluest Eye.”

“I’m not particularly religious,” Smith explained. “The Bible doesn’t hold significant meaning for me, and given everything that has occurred in the last couple of years, the banned books, they do mean something to me at this point.”

The article notes:

In fact, all of the books Smith used for her swearing-in ceremony (with the exception of Elie Wiesel’s testimonial Holocaust novel “Night”) have been subjects of recent controversy and many have been banned from classrooms or libraries for their sexually-explicit and ideologically-charged content.

Meg Kilgannon, senior fellow for education studies at Family Research Council, commented to The Washington Stand, “People and political forces who would use children to advance their evil ideologies may have momentary successes or seem to win the day, but in the end we know that God wins.”

New board members were recently elected in the school district, and the Daily Signal article states:

First, the new board suspended the ban on sexually explicit books. Although “Gender Queer” and “This Book Is Gay” were already removed, Smith said that the other 60 books or so flagged for sexually explicit content are “definitely not going to be reviewed at this point.”

Next, the new board undid the policies barring biological boys from participating in girls sports and forbidding teachers from flying LGBT Pride flags in classrooms.

In Virginia, new Fairfax County School Board member Karl Frisch acted in a similar way.  The Washington Examiner reported that...

...Frisch, the first openly LGBT member elected to local office in Fairfax County, Virginia, was seen last week getting sworn into office by putting his hand on a stack of the five LGBT-themed books that have commonly been challenged in libraries and schools — Gender Queer, Flamer, All Boys Aren’t Blue, Lawn Boy, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

VA teacher who lost job for lack of pronoun usage receives court victory

A lawsuit filed by a Virginia teacher who was fired because he would not use the requested "gender" pronouns of a student has been allowed to move forward, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom website. It says: "...the Virginia Supreme Court ruled... that it would reinstate a lawsuit alleging the West Point School Board violated a high school teacher’s rights protected by Virginia law when it fired him for avoiding the use of personal pronouns to refer to one of his students."

The teacher's name is Peter Vlaming; the website states:

The West Point School Board fired Vlaming after he stated he couldn’t in good conscience comply with the superintendent’s demand that he refer to one of his students using pronouns inconsistent with the student’s sex. Vlaming tried to accommodate the student by consistently using the student’s new preferred name and by avoiding the use of pronouns altogether. But school officials ordered him to stop avoiding the use of pronouns to refer to the student, even when the student wasn’t present, and to start using pronouns inconsistent with the student’s sex.

ADF Senior Counsel Chris Schandevel is quoted as saying, “Peter wasn’t fired for something he said; he was fired for something he couldn’t say. The Virginia Supreme Court rightly agreed that Peter’s case against the school board for violating his rights under the Virginia Constitution and state law should proceed..."

The article notes:

In its opinion in Vlaming v. West Point School Board, the Virginia Supreme Court correctly recognized that the Virginia Constitution “seeks to protect diversity of thought, diversity of speech, diversity of religion, and diversity of opinion.” The ruling continued, “Absent a truly compelling reason for doing so, no government committed to these principles can lawfully coerce its citizens into pledging verbal allegiance to ideological views that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.”