SCOTUS Hears Oral Arguments on Teaching of LGBTQ+ Materials In Elementary Schools

NEWS. April 22, 2025, from Little Rock.

The Supreme Court of the United States took up oral arguments today in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case involving the mandatory use of certain books taught to children in public school.  In Montgomery County, Maryland, the school board decided that gay pride books should be taught to children.  The goal of these books was to “disrupt the either/or” mentality surrounding gender and sex.

One book, Pride Puppy, was approved for pre-kindergarten and Head Start children.  In that book, the story follows a puppy that gets lost in a pride parade.  The children are encouraged to seek out and find words like “drag queen, drag king, underwear, lip ring, and leather” as the book navigates the letters of the alphabet.

Another book, Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, explains the concept of same sex marriage to second and third graders. The book normalizes the experience of a child’s struggle to understand her favorite uncle’s wedding to another man.

The legal storm cropped up when the school board mandated the reading of the books and did not give parents a chance to opt their children out of that portion of the program.  Initially, the board did give that option when the books were being taught as part of a health class.  However, the board moved the books to English class, where opting out was not an option.

The case was brought on freedom of religion basis.  The justices expressed criticism as the many of the teachers in the district found the books to be inappropriate for children of that age and did not want to teach the material. Additionally, the mandatory nature of the material was designed by the school board to disrupt the student’s thought process about what it means to be transgender and gay.

An opinion is likely to come some time before the court goes into its summer recess in June.

ANALYSIS.

Apparently, indoctrinating children to sexual conduct is not localized to the Saline County library.  The goal of the board in Maryland was to influence how children think about same sex and gender issues in an environment that is free of any religious influence.

To me, that is the definition of an educational disaster. It is also deeply disturbing to me that some people in our society want to teach children as young as four about having sex and gender ideology.  It is little wonder that the kids are having sex in the janitor’s closet in middle school and we need more prison space for pedophiles.

The conservative wing of the court had specific umbrage with the school teaching materials which went directly against the religious teachings of the parents. Thus, to the arguments of the parents, the school was violating their rights to the free exercise of religion.

Admittedly, it is an interesting argument.  We will have to wait and see how the court resolves this issue with the outcome likely having a lasting impact on state funded education across the nation.

Clinton W. Lancaster

Attorney. America First. Sued Hunter Biden for child support. Represented President Trump in the 2020 Wisconsin election challenge. Former attorney for the Wisconsin Special Counsel. An official “Tough Cookie” per President Trump.