Several teachers, such as Tanner Cross of Loudoun County, Virginia; Peter Vlaming of West Point, Virginia; and Nicholas Meriwether of Portsmouth, Ohio, are reportedly engaged in legal battles for refusing transgender pronouns out of the practice of their faith and out of the belief that it goes against human nature.
WND said Tanner Cross won the case filed at the Virginia Supreme Court against the elementary school he taught in--the Loudoun County Public Schools--but his battle continues since an amended complaint was filed on August 16 with co-teachers Monica Gill and Kimberly Wright through Alliance Defending Freedom.
Christianity Daily previously reported that Cross was put on "administrative leave" for airing his views on the school's LGBTQ gender/pronoun policy, which was deemed an "unconstitutional action" by Judge James Plowman and ordered him to be reinstated in the school. However, the school refused to comply and filed a counter lawsuit, that eventually lost in favor of Cross.
The amended complaint was then filed out of challenging the policy of public schools to punish teachers who express their beliefs, especially on human nature.
"This case is about far more than pronouns. It raises the question whether public schools can punish a teacher for objecting, as a private citizen during the public comment portion of a board meeting, to a proposed policy that would force him to express ideas about human nature, unrelated to the school's curriculum, that he believes are false," the amended complaint highlighted.
Alliance Defending Freedom's Langhofer Tyson highlighted the clarity of their argument in the amended complaint which is against the right of teachers to express their beliefs.
"Our argument to the court was clear: The government has no right to force teachers to adhere to contested beliefs about human nature that they disagree with," Tyson said.
Vlaming, on the other hand, avoided the use of pronouns when referencing a student who transitioned as a transgender woman. Officials from the West Point School Division gave Vlaming the "ultimatum" and the threat of losing his job if he persists to avoid the use of the student's preferred pronouns or if he continues to "use male pronouns for this female student."
Vlaming was fired and he filed a lawsuit through Alliance Defending Freedom at the King William Circuit Court. But the lawsuit was dismissed by the local court and Vlaming had to file an appeal in the Virginia Supreme Court.
While Meriwether was threatened by the Shawnee State University in January 2018 with disciplinary measures if he does not use the preferred pronouns. The threat came after Meriwether had past encounters with a transgender student. Meriwether's case was similarly dismissed, and that prompted him, through the Alliance Defending Freedom, to file an appeal at the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Langhofer revealed that they receive many phone calls regarding teachers encountering the same dilemma as Cross, Vlaming, and Meriwether.
"These are the only three cases we currently have in litigation. But there are...we receive many many phone calls throughout the country on a regular basis from teachers K-12 and universities on this issue," Langhofer disclosed.
