Colorado Dad Suing School District for Discrimination After Refusing to Display ‘Straight Pride Flag’ Next to ‘Progress Pride Flag’
“If we had more parents like [Feldman], then these policies would never have been rolled out in the first place, and they’d be teaching kids about math and science”
A Colorado father is suing his children’s school district for refusing to fly the ‘straight pride’ flag alongside the ‘gay progress’ flag at school. This may sound crazy at first, but consider the fact that this is the exact same tactic that left-wing ‘Satanists’ have used to force their ‘Christmas’ displays into public spaces alongside Christmas trees.
FOX News reports:
Father sues school district for refusing to display straight pride flag alongside Progress Pride flag
A Colorado father is suing the state’s largest school district, claiming staff refused to let him display a “straight pride” flag alongside the Progress Pride flags on view throughout his children’s Denver school.
Nathan Feldman argues his children are being barred from exercising their freedom of speech in a case of viewpoint discrimination.
Feldman’s lawyer, Michael Yoder, blamed equity policies like Denver’s for “the overt sexualization of content in elementary schools nationwide.” Progress Pride flags and gender identity books geared toward young children encourage students to ask about them and foster one-sided conversation around inappropriate topics in the classroom, he said.
“If we had more parents like [Feldman], then these policies would never have been rolled out in the first place, and they’d be teaching kids about math and science,” Yoder said. “They wouldn’t be talking about sexual orientation and homosexuality and having this flamboyant breeding ground for inappropriate content.”
The conflict began in October 2022 when Feldman visited Slavens School, where his twin children were second grade students. He noticed dozens of Progress Pride flags displayed in classrooms and hallways, according to the suit.
Here’s a simple solution. Don’t display either flag.
Simply put, the school, whose job is to teach parentally approved curriculum, needs to stop pushing preferences for any specific “Gender lifestyle choice” since that has NEVER BEEN AT TOPIC that the schools are mandated to teach.https://t.co/cbxS147neU
— Jswarens (@jeff_swarens) December 5, 2023
CBS News is reporting that the father’s lawsuit could succeed:
“This is not a groundbreaking lawsuit. This is just a controversial lawsuit,” said David Lane, a civil rights attorney based in Denver…
“People are under the mistaken belief that offensive speech or hate speech is not protected speech. The U.S. Supreme Court has said the government doesn’t get to choose and decide what is offensive, what is not offensive,” said Lane. “If they’re going to allow any political speech, they’re going to have to allow all political speech of a related nature.”
Lane states DPS, a government-funded school, is required to allow this expression of speech.
“As much as I may disagree politically with his position. I think First Amendment case law mandates that this school either eliminate LGBTQ flags and all flags of that nature or they allow him to fly whatever flag he wants,” said Lane. “He is absolutely correct that this is a First Amendment violation.
Again, there is a very simple way to fix this. Allow only the American flag and state flags to fly in public schools.
Here’s a local video report:
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Comments
well done papa.
Targets for the Equal Protection Project!
Two questions?
Are the admins proud of Necr0philia, Ped0philia And Be@stiality?
What about Straight people are they NOT proud of?
Because it’s a religion and they refuse to allow other religions.
Islam’s a lot like that.
And here we see the irony of a man suing because the temple to which he voluntarily submits his kids is teaching its religion …
You are 180 degrees off base. Public schools exist to serve TAXPAYERS and their chikdren, not fringe freaks and union members. TAXPAYERS have the RIGHT to clean-up and control the public schools.
You’re both right. One de facto, the other de jure.
He is not speaking for the taxpayers. The taxpayers elected the school board which has chosen to display these flags. That is their legitimate choice. If he objects he can campaign against the board members at the next election and try to get a new board elected that agrees with him.
The very purpose of the Bill of Rights was to withdraw certain subjects from the vicissitudes of political controversy, to place them beyond the reach of majorities and officials and to establish them as legal principles to be applied by the Courts. One’s right to life, liberty, and property, to free speech, a free press, freedom of worship and assembly, and other fundamental rights, may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections.
—SUPREME COURT OF THE US, WV BOARD OF EDUCATION V. BARNETTE, 319 US 624 AT 638
Henry, I was responding to “Voice of Reason”, who claimed that this plaintiff is right because “Public schools exist to serve TAXPAYERS and their chikdren, not fringe freaks and union members”. But he is wrong, because it was the voters who (through their elected representatives) chose this policy. and the plaintiff is attempting to impose a different policy on them.
Whether he’s right to do so depends entirely on whose speech the flags represent. But right or wrong, VOR’s objection is invalid. If he’s right, he’s right despite VOR’s point, not because of it.
KY Squatch is completely correct. The downvoters are clueless.
Replicate this in all areas. For example pin down the lefty Univ administrators who refuse to act in the face virulent antisemitic speech and actions via lawsuits about their failure to allow other ‘controversial’ speech/actions. Where lefty antisemitism is allowed then certainly all the anti trans ideology groups must be allowed the same freedom of action. As must anti abortion advocates. As must pro 2A advocates. Then there’s all the campus speakers who are either not allowed on campus or are subjected to insane security costs. Have the antisemitic groups on campus been presented a security bill for their own actions? Why not?
Why not?
Because they didn’t hurt anyone who mattered [to the Progressives].
“Replicate this in all areas.”
No. WITHDRAW YOUR KIDS FROM STATE RE-EDUCATION CAMPS in all areas.
Both.
Withdraw your kids from government indoctrination centers, and as a taxpayer fight for ideologically neutral instruction.
We cannot cede the field to the d/prog and expect to win. That’s what those on our side of the ideological divide have been doing for decades and here we are. Abandoning the field and refusing to confront our ideological opponents simply gives our opponents an easy victory. No matter how much you retreat they will advance.
The way you framed your response ‘withdraw your kids’ is itself part of the problem. The public schools belong to the public taxpayers and citizens not just Parents of school age children. Same for all public spaces. Your idea seems to be to cloister yourself away from the world and be left alone, it will not work in the modern age of interconnection. Your kids will sooner or later be forced to face/confront the d/prog and their warped ideological beliefs.
Fighting to “take over” America’s best example of totalitarian socialism is a morally bankrupt strategy. Take your kids out, and work to disestablish the government schools.
CommoChief’s arguments are bogus. He can sacrifice his own children if he wants.
gibbie,
Pulling your kids out of public schools like the ones described in this article is common sense IMO but framing this:
1. As if it is THE answer, full stop. Nothing else needed or required to win is bunk.
2. As if ONLY the Parents of school age Children have a stake in public schools. That is as big a distortion as the Teachers unions claiming ONLY Teachers/Educators know what’s best or should have a voice in school policies. Every taxpaying Citizen has a legit voice in the policies and performance of the local schools they pay for.
FWIW, I have strongly advocated for school choice. Real choice that is with public funding following the Student to the choice made by the Parents for the best educational fit for that Student.
Education isn’t the end of it. Not by a long way. That’s why I stated ‘replicate this in All Areas’. I mean just that ALL areas of life. Make our political opposition work to win instead of sitting back passively as many have done for decades while the d/prove advanced their agenda in our institutions.
If you want to give up and grant easy, unfought victories to our political opposition that’s up to you. They won’t stop in Public K-12. They will come to the Public Library, to the Public Park the Public sidewalk and the Public street.
Wait they already did that in many places see SF when Commie dictators aren’t coming to town anyway. How about Public Universities? Nah that’s part of the battlefield you want to run away from. Surely they won’t move to take over private business? Sorry to tell you but that’s also well underway, see corporate DEI policies.
Attempting to live a cloistered life, separated from lefty incursions isn’t a winning strategy. There is no hiding from this competition of ideas. There’s no place to run that will be safe from the woke, leftists and their neo Marxist totalitarianism. Sooner or later you gonna have to make a stand.
The particular “Pride” flag shown in the story photo is also RACIST!
The black stripe is to include black people.
The brown stripe is to include people of color.
People with white skin are explicitly excluded.
(The white triangle is for gender questioning.)
To hell with Feldman. He should pull his child out of the public school system and pay for a private school that adheres to traditional values. No praise for a man who lets his child stew in a cesspool while scum-of-the-earth lawyers play verbal pong. And, what if he won immediate relief? These same spawn-of-devil, ignorant, woke fanatics would continue to influence his child every day.
I’d like to buy you a Scotch. A nice Highland Park 12, perhaps.
SO FEW “conservatives” and “Christians” who are willing to walk away from “muh free publick edumacation.”
There is NO free public education, taxpayers pay for it and taxpayers should control education, including providing school choice.
This is a profoundly thoughtless response. Which of the many strenuously disagreeing taxpayers “should” control education.
You contradict yourself. The taxpayers, or rather the voters, do control education. That means not providing any school choice. School choice takes control away from the voters and puts it in the hands of each parent, so according to your own words you should be against it.
In many areas, the price of “free” public education poisons the market against the viability of private alternatives.
Note when Bill Gates did exactly the same thing with a frickin’ BROWSER, the feds were all over it.
“Allow only the American flag and state flags to fly in public schools.”
Well, that’s not gonna happen because government schools are satan’s youth ministry, and child sacrifice (bodily and sexually) is paramount to them.
Oh, btw: Epstein didn’t kill himself.
Scotus has ruled time and time again government schools are forbidden to impose viewpoint discrimination. Law of the Land! Court has ruled! Ain’t that what lefties always scream when it goes their way?
I scream, “When are we gonna start putting politicos in prison for violating The Law of the Land? When??
Because this will never end until we do.
“government schools are satan’s youth ministry”
Amen.
And yet, it seems like every week there’s a story about some putz like this parent who’s angry that Satan’s youth ministry is peddling a satanic agenda.
GET THEM OUT, folks!!
That is only true when they are controlling other people’s speech. The same SCOTUS has ruled time and again that government schools, like all other government agencies, when speaking for themselves, are perfectly entitled to speak only their own views and refuse to speak views they don’t like.
BRB, working on a White Lives Matter flag.
Make sure it won’t be confused for a French surrender flag.
Well, if “pride flags are permitted how about demanding a “Southern Pride” flag? You know, the one with the St Andrew’s Cross. Boy howdy watch them howl.
Alinsky rule 4.
This headline should read, “MAN YELLS AT CLOUD.”
“We can’t keep sending our children to Caesar for their education, then act surprised when they come home as Romans.” ~ Rev. Voddie Baucham
If conservatives and Christians pulled their children from Caesar’s schools (instead of suing them for peddling Caesar’s agenda), the whole thing would collapse yesterday.
I considered doing the same over All Lives Matter being censored on school murals. Instead we just pulled our kid out and celebrated our white privilege in a tropical location during BLM week and then when it came to teaching gender fluidity, we just pulled our kid out completely.
That school is now on the verge of closing.
Well done, Mr. Feldman!!!
The first amendment does not give the me the right to display posters or speak my mind at a school. It is not a place of public gathering and one can be asked to leave no-questions-asked and be charged with trespass if they dont..
I don’t see this suit being successful. It’s a catch-22. Dad has no standing to sue and the kid has no free speech rights in a classroom.
That depends on whether the school has created a limited public forum for people to express views, e.g. a notice board where some subset of the public, e.g. students, staff, parents, etc, are allowed to put up flyers. If it has, then it must allow all views to be expressed in that forum. It can censor flyers only on viewpoint-neutral grounds.
But a school is not required to create such a forum in the first place. It can have a notice board on which only the school itself can put things, and it may then put up only those flyers it agrees with.
An absolutely crucial point is completely missing from this story. Nowhere are we told who put up all those “Progress Pride” flags.
It’s impossible to decide whether his suit is meritorious or frivolous without knowing that. If the school allowed people to put up those flags, and generally does allow people to put up things they like, so that students who see them know that they reflect the views of whoever put them up and not necessarily the school, then he’s right, they must allow his flag too.
But if the school itself decided to put up those flags, and generally reserves those spaces for items of its own choice, so that students who see the flags know they reflect the school’s opinions, then his suit is without any merit and should be dismissed out of hand.
The government is entitled to speak for itself, and when it does so it has the same freedom of speech as anyone else. It may say the things it agrees with, and refuse to say those it disagrees with.
An important distinction: If it’s clear that items on a notice board, for instance, do not reflect the school’s own views, then it not only may but must allow religious messages to be posted. If a reasonable student would assume that the notice board reflects the school’s own views then it is forbidden to post any religious message.
Ditto for prayers in school. A school may allow students to pray in public, if it’s clear that the students are speaking for themselves. But teachers in primary and secondary schools are not allowed to lead prayers because students naturally assume they are speaking for the school. In universities professors are allowed to lead prayers, because university students are assumed to understand that professors speak only for themselves, and the school doesn’t endorse everything they say.
The Supreme Court has been very clear about this distinction.
When the FBI comes a-knocking, scoot out the back door.