It’s no secret that the left’s woke agenda has gone way too far. There’s nowhere that this is more apparent than in our schools, where kids are brainwashed with liberal nonsense on a daily basis.
Peter Vlaming is one teacher who knows this better than anyone. After teaching French in West Point, Virginia, for almost seven years, he was fired for refusing to refer to a female student by using male pronouns. Thankfully, Vlaming is now getting the last laugh in the form of a massive settlement.
It all started back in the fall of 2018. It was then that a girl that Vlaming already knew enrolled in his French II course.
From The Blaze:
In their previous interactions, the girl, referred to in court documents as “John Doe,” had apparently accepted the use of a female French name and female pronouns, but by the time she arrived for French II, Vlaming had learned that she “desired to be called by a more culturally masculine name,” court documents said.Vlaming — whose religious beliefs uphold that “sex is fixed in each person, and that it cannot be changed, regardless of our feelings or desires” — tried to accommodate the student by avoiding pronouns in reference to her altogether and instead calling her by either her masculine English or French name.
This alternative was apparently unacceptable to the student’s parent and school administrators. The parent told Vlaming he “should leave his principles and beliefs out of this and refer to [Doe] as a male,” the documents said.
Vlaming was ultimately fired after he defiantly said that he could not in good conscience use masculine pronouns in reference to Doe. He hit back by suing the The West Point School in September of 2019. In his suit, Vlaming claimed that the district had breached his contract and violated his rights to free speech, free exercise, and due process.
Though a lower court dismissed the suit, the Commonwealth Supreme Court reinstated it last year. It ruled that the Virginia Constitution “seeks to protect diversity of thought, diversity of speech, diversity of religion, and diversity of opinion.”
Vlaming’s Settlement
It was announced on Monday that Vlaming and the district had reached a settlement. Vlaming will be paid $575,000 in damages. He will also have his attorney fees paid and the termination wiped from his record.
From Alliance Defending Freedom:
“I was wrongfully fired from my teaching job because my religious beliefs put me on a collision course with school administrators who mandated that teachers ascribe to only one perspective on gender identity—their preferred view,” Vlaming said.“I loved teaching French and gracefully tried to accommodate every student in my class, but I couldn’t say something that directly violated my conscience. I’m very grateful for the work of my attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom to bring my case to victory, and hope it helps protect every other teacher and professor’s fundamental First Amendment rights.”
ADF senior counsel Tyson Langhofer also cheered the ruling.
“Peter wasn’t fired for something he said; he was fired for something he couldn’t say,” he explained. “The school board violated his First Amendment rights under the Virginia Constitution and commonwealth law.”
We’re so glad that justice was served in this case. This pronoun nonsense has gone way too far, and it’s time for it to end. We applaud Vlaming for sticking to his guns and refusing to comply with blatant wokeness. We would also encourage more teachers to do the same!
Key Takeaways:
- Virginia teacher fired for refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns.
- This teacher will now receive a $575,000 settlement.
- This is another example of wokeness in schools gone too far.
Sources: The Blaze, Alliance Defending Freedom
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