The rights of free speech and expression are critical to the foundation of our freedom in America. When people can’t exercise their rights, the foundation of the nation’s society falls apart.
For decades liberals have used these freedoms as an advantage to promote their ideals. As the tide has turned where everyone is expected to follow along with liberal ideals, governments have stepped into the equation and stepped on the rights and freedoms of those who think differently than liberals.
One father has taken a stance against the new status quo and efforts from authorities to stop his free expression. He has taken on the cultural and government stance that only one viewpoint can be expressed in public places.
At stake is the father’s children being barred from exercising their freedom of speech, and this dad is seeking to force a halt to viewpoint discrimination.
From Fox News:
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.
The Progress Pride flag is a redesigned version of the rainbow flag that has added stripes honoring transgender individuals and people of color. Nathan Feldman is suing the school after observing dozens of Progress Pride flags displayed in classrooms and hallways, according to the legal complaint. In October 2022 Feldman visited Slavens School which was attended by his twin children in the second grade.
Feldman requested to display flags representing the views of his children. He wanted to place similar-sized flags next to the many teachers flags which he stated in the lawsuit were “not inclusive of all Slavens School students and only represent one viewpoint on the topic of sex.” Feldman wanted flags that were an example of a “straight pride flag.”
The father took his request to administrators, according to the lawsuit, and was allegedly told the “district doesn’t allow for other flags.” Flags that were allowed, he alleged, included the rainbow flag or other sign of support for LGBTQIA+ students or staff because these were “symbols consistent with the district’s equity-based curriculum.”
Feldman filed the legal action in November in the U.S. District of Colorado and is seeking seeks $3 million in punitive damages, according to his lawyer. The intent, his lawyer stated, is to hold the school district accountable for “intentional discrimination.” Defendants in the case are listed as Denver Public Schools, the board of education, Slavens School and several school administrators and other staff.
One note about the lawsuit is that Feldman, according to his lawyer, has not asked the school to remove the pride flags and is not attacking the LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s simply the straightforward issue of viewpoint discrimination in a public school,” Feldman’s lawyer, Michael Yoder, told Fox News. “You’re expressing a viewpoint on one topic and you’re silencing our viewpoint on the exact same topic. You cannot do that … it violates the First Amendment.”
Key Takeaways:
- School rejects dad’s request to display “straight pride flag” honoring his children.
- Father of twins takes issue with school administrators’ decision and sues.
- At stake is the First Amendment and the silencing of opposing viewpoints.
Source: Fox News
