When history books are written about this decade, the battle over pronouns will surely be recorded as one of its dumbest episodes, and that proudly aggressive brand of ignorance particular to the MAGAt movement will be rightly condemned for the rank stupidity it is.
"You see, kids, Miami sank into the Atlantic ocean because Republicans were more interested in making life miserable for trans people than they were in doing anything to mitigate climate change. No, I don't understand why. Nobody does. Even they didn't. To them, understanding things was bad, so they wanted to make sure everyone understood as few things as possible. Imagine that- people who were actually proud of how little they knew! Yes, I'm glad they're all gone now, too. Everyone is."
Huge. I hope this helps set a precedent for using 1A to protect our freedom of expression and speech. It seems to be obvious, but I’m not a legal scholar
I love, love, love how Judge Walker premised part of his analysis on the Kennedy case (the football coach praying on the 50 yard line after games) to recognize Ms Wood's claims. And also on statements from Justice Alito.
It's brilliant that it places expression of gender identity on the same level (and presumably with the same protections) as the expression of a faith identity.
All of those laws protecting the public expression of sincerely held beliefs against transgender identities should now equally protect the public expression of sincerely held beliefs in favor of transgender identities.
Oh my gosh, I want to send this trans teacher in Florida a cake, a bodyguard and half my imaginary inheritance I wish were real. She deserves all the love and support she can get! I think about people like her everyday, fighting the fight. I wish there was a way for her to know I am rooting for her.
All of these anti-trans and anti-gay laws have trouble in the courts. When they are brought before truly impartial judges, the unconstitutional nature of these laws is plain to see. But court rulings can be reversed at a higher level. We need an amendment. It should be a part of the equal rights amendment, protecting the rights of all women, all LGBTQIA+ people, and the right to identify as whatever gender you please. Will this happen? Maybe, if the whole country doesn't tumble completely down the rabbit hole of fascism.
Yes, whenever the Dems get a trifecta (maybe even sooner with a few cooperating Republicans) the Equality Act will get passed and Roe will get codified. The political pressure on them to do so will have become unbearable.
It is quite refreshing to hear a judge using appropriate language to address this nonsense. The same goes for students in my classroom. I do not understand why any teacher would not want to respect a student's individualism, and I'm talking mainly high school. As the judge says, we are a union of individuals, bottom line. It is not conjecture, but a fact, that people will simply be better as a result of mutual respect. Most importantly, happier, I would assume, and thus better to have as a fellow citizen. But also prosperous in a traditional sense, able to make one's way and earn a living, as we all have to do.
Our current society does have all the tools to service the justice system which serves ALL, from every walk of Life? The U.S. and Canada [I am a Canadian] have three levels of government [our States are known as Provinces and Territories]. We should be able to secure political justice at the lowest level of government?? These issues begin at the "grassroots" level of our society?? We all need to work together on this planet to support each other. OK. U.S. taxpayers had to spend the resources of a Federal Judiciary to achieve the current result. Pause, to celebrate another victory in Florida. Thank you Erin & Co for your effort to keep us posted. I enjoy receiving all the notifications in my email inbox. Please stay safe EVERYONE! You know who loves you! Sending lots of Love from London, Ontario, Canada.
I used to go up to Ontario every summer, to said relatives’ house and then to a cottage on Lake Kennisis. They’re some of my most cherished memories from my childhood.
Ms. Wood with her 4 years of teaching history had to go through such a gut wrenching experience breaks my heart. The judge gets so much attention for his decision on a conclusion we all know should never be questioned. There must be some type of recognition we can nominate Ms. Wood for.
This is why I read Erin In The Morning, not the opinion news that dominates the airways but sincere relatable news substantiated with facts. As to Florida, wow, the judge said it right and the comment from an earlier respondent that this ruling sets freedom of expression for gender with freedom of religious expression on equal footing is not only insightful but true and should be used in all cases of 1A rulings. And now we have a judge with a backbone willing to stand up to the anti-American right-wing conservatives (I'm not mentioning names) who are trying to dismantle the constitution. I'm still amazed that 240 years ago, the designers of our constitution and bill of rights had the foresight to protect American's civil liberties and now it seems we have a light at the end of a very long dark tunnel of civil rights abuses. I would be honored to have a child in a classroom led by a teacher of either sex whose test scores are above average. Cheers to the teachers whose dedication has accomplished this in the last 4 years. They deserve a raise.
Key here is " essential to our basic humanity". This statement really packs a punch. To me it says not only are we recognized as human beings but as deserving of a basic level of respect and dignity.
Right on. It could not be more clear and basic than this:
"The freedom to use the title ‘Ms.’ and to share her [preferred] pronouns at school is essential to her basic humanity.”
That was music to my ears.
FUCK YES!!! It makes me so happy to see that there are still sane justices in the federal judiciary!
When history books are written about this decade, the battle over pronouns will surely be recorded as one of its dumbest episodes, and that proudly aggressive brand of ignorance particular to the MAGAt movement will be rightly condemned for the rank stupidity it is.
"You see, kids, Miami sank into the Atlantic ocean because Republicans were more interested in making life miserable for trans people than they were in doing anything to mitigate climate change. No, I don't understand why. Nobody does. Even they didn't. To them, understanding things was bad, so they wanted to make sure everyone understood as few things as possible. Imagine that- people who were actually proud of how little they knew! Yes, I'm glad they're all gone now, too. Everyone is."
Honestly, the First Amendment should include trans people.
At this point, we're going to need to change the constitution again to include an LGBTQ+ bill of rights or something.
Mic 🎤 drop 💥
Huge. I hope this helps set a precedent for using 1A to protect our freedom of expression and speech. It seems to be obvious, but I’m not a legal scholar
Unfortunately, SCOTUS is largely controlled by conservative justices.
If this goes to them, they will reverse decisions in their favor, as they've done repeatedly with other issues (despite winning on the local level).
I love, love, love how Judge Walker premised part of his analysis on the Kennedy case (the football coach praying on the 50 yard line after games) to recognize Ms Wood's claims. And also on statements from Justice Alito.
It's brilliant that it places expression of gender identity on the same level (and presumably with the same protections) as the expression of a faith identity.
All of those laws protecting the public expression of sincerely held beliefs against transgender identities should now equally protect the public expression of sincerely held beliefs in favor of transgender identities.
It's nice to see good news. The courts provide it more often than not, even in red states.
Thanks for your great work, Erin. I especially appreciate that you provide sources like the judicial order when possible. Too few journalists do that.
Oh my gosh, I want to send this trans teacher in Florida a cake, a bodyguard and half my imaginary inheritance I wish were real. She deserves all the love and support she can get! I think about people like her everyday, fighting the fight. I wish there was a way for her to know I am rooting for her.
All of these anti-trans and anti-gay laws have trouble in the courts. When they are brought before truly impartial judges, the unconstitutional nature of these laws is plain to see. But court rulings can be reversed at a higher level. We need an amendment. It should be a part of the equal rights amendment, protecting the rights of all women, all LGBTQIA+ people, and the right to identify as whatever gender you please. Will this happen? Maybe, if the whole country doesn't tumble completely down the rabbit hole of fascism.
Yes, whenever the Dems get a trifecta (maybe even sooner with a few cooperating Republicans) the Equality Act will get passed and Roe will get codified. The political pressure on them to do so will have become unbearable.
This is great news of course. However, I won’t really be satisfied until Florida retracts its awful drivers license gender marker policies.
It is quite refreshing to hear a judge using appropriate language to address this nonsense. The same goes for students in my classroom. I do not understand why any teacher would not want to respect a student's individualism, and I'm talking mainly high school. As the judge says, we are a union of individuals, bottom line. It is not conjecture, but a fact, that people will simply be better as a result of mutual respect. Most importantly, happier, I would assume, and thus better to have as a fellow citizen. But also prosperous in a traditional sense, able to make one's way and earn a living, as we all have to do.
Our current society does have all the tools to service the justice system which serves ALL, from every walk of Life? The U.S. and Canada [I am a Canadian] have three levels of government [our States are known as Provinces and Territories]. We should be able to secure political justice at the lowest level of government?? These issues begin at the "grassroots" level of our society?? We all need to work together on this planet to support each other. OK. U.S. taxpayers had to spend the resources of a Federal Judiciary to achieve the current result. Pause, to celebrate another victory in Florida. Thank you Erin & Co for your effort to keep us posted. I enjoy receiving all the notifications in my email inbox. Please stay safe EVERYONE! You know who loves you! Sending lots of Love from London, Ontario, Canada.
You’re from Ontario? Cool! My aunt and uncle (on my mother’s side) live in the outskirts of Peterborough in your province!
I have not visited Peterborough [yet]. However, I hear the City is a nice place. Best wishes to You, and your Loved Ones.
I used to go up to Ontario every summer, to said relatives’ house and then to a cottage on Lake Kennisis. They’re some of my most cherished memories from my childhood.
"Once again, the State of Florida has a First Amendment problem."
Nailed it!
Ms. Wood with her 4 years of teaching history had to go through such a gut wrenching experience breaks my heart. The judge gets so much attention for his decision on a conclusion we all know should never be questioned. There must be some type of recognition we can nominate Ms. Wood for.
This is why I read Erin In The Morning, not the opinion news that dominates the airways but sincere relatable news substantiated with facts. As to Florida, wow, the judge said it right and the comment from an earlier respondent that this ruling sets freedom of expression for gender with freedom of religious expression on equal footing is not only insightful but true and should be used in all cases of 1A rulings. And now we have a judge with a backbone willing to stand up to the anti-American right-wing conservatives (I'm not mentioning names) who are trying to dismantle the constitution. I'm still amazed that 240 years ago, the designers of our constitution and bill of rights had the foresight to protect American's civil liberties and now it seems we have a light at the end of a very long dark tunnel of civil rights abuses. I would be honored to have a child in a classroom led by a teacher of either sex whose test scores are above average. Cheers to the teachers whose dedication has accomplished this in the last 4 years. They deserve a raise.
Key here is " essential to our basic humanity". This statement really packs a punch. To me it says not only are we recognized as human beings but as deserving of a basic level of respect and dignity.
FL is just so grasping at straws.