CRC Et Al Appeal Board Ruling
Last week a web site was saying that the CRC, PFOX, and the Family Leader Network had filed another lawsuit. I'm not going to link to the site, but it said:
Well, it wasn't hard to go to the courthouse and find out what Case Number 284980 is. You can see it HERE. It's five pages of a "Civil-Non-Domestic Case Information Report." When you get past the form data, here's what it says:
Not much to it, just asking for review of the state board's decision.
There is a little more explanation at the web site of the Thomas More Law Center:
You may remember the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) as being the group that sued to get the schools in Dover, Pennsylvania, to teach Intelligent Design instead of evolution. The school board up there hired them to push it through.
The judge ruled hard against them. His opinion, which was beautiful, by the way, minced no words, you can read it HERE.
Among other things, he ruled against the Dover school board because:
I'm just saying. They lost, partly, because they used these lawyers.
What do they hope to get out of this? Well, here's what they're saying, anyway, at TMLC:
So that seems to be the strategy. They have to go all the way through the current system before they can move the case to a state court (not federal, as they were saying earlier). The plan is to sue again, using Thomas More this time.
Also, we note that the CRC sent out a newsletter yesterday that said:
This all makes you think the Law Center isn't really getting behind this with much force.
Citizens for Responsible Curriculum (CRC), Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX) and Family Leader Network have filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County,Case Number 284980 as a result of the sex ed indoctrination curriculum passed by the BOE earlier this year. The parents groups are represented by the Thomas More Law Center a Catholic legal group. Sharon Cox and Pat O’ Neill must be joyous as they got what they wanted, another lawsuit against the BOE. Cox and O’Neill taunted the groups with statements like “bring it on” during BOE meetings. Win or lose this lawsuit will cost taxpayers big bucks which could be used to help special needs children or support other programs.
Well, it wasn't hard to go to the courthouse and find out what Case Number 284980 is. You can see it HERE. It's five pages of a "Civil-Non-Domestic Case Information Report." When you get past the form data, here's what it says:
Petitioners/appellants Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, and Family Leader Network, who were all parties to the agency proceeding, request judicial review of Opinion No. 07-30, dated June 27, 2007, and sent by the Maryland State Board of Education on July 3, 2007, to petitioners. A copy of the opinion is attached hereto.
Not much to it, just asking for review of the state board's decision.
There is a little more explanation at the web site of the Thomas More Law Center:
ANN ARBOR, MI – A public school district’s program promoting anal sex, homosexuality, bisexuality, and transvestitism as normal sexual variations was recently approved by the Maryland State Board of Education despite strenuous opposition from several pro-family groups. Montgomery County Public School’s controversial sexuality curriculum for eighth and tenth grade students is the result of pressure by homosexual advocacy groups.
In response, the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced today that it will assist the pro-family groups in their appeal of the Education Board’s decision to the Montgomery County Circuit Court. The Law Center will be assisted by Maryland attorney John R. Garza who has been involved in the curriculum fight for several years.
You may remember the Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) as being the group that sued to get the schools in Dover, Pennsylvania, to teach Intelligent Design instead of evolution. The school board up there hired them to push it through.
The judge ruled hard against them. His opinion, which was beautiful, by the way, minced no words, you can read it HERE.
Among other things, he ruled against the Dover school board because:
The Board relied solely on legal advice from two organizations with demonstrably religious, cultural, and legal missions, the Discovery Institute and the TMLC.
I'm just saying. They lost, partly, because they used these lawyers.
What do they hope to get out of this? Well, here's what they're saying, anyway, at TMLC:
The Montgomery County Circuit Court may overturn the decision of the State Board of Education. The court may also stay the application of the sexuality curriculum while the appeal is pending. If the court affirms the decision of the State Board of Education, the case will be appealed to the Maryland Court of Appeals.
So that seems to be the strategy. They have to go all the way through the current system before they can move the case to a state court (not federal, as they were saying earlier). The plan is to sue again, using Thomas More this time.
Also, we note that the CRC sent out a newsletter yesterday that said:
Donations are desperately needed to help with the legal battle - if the 2,000 of you on this list click the link below and donate just 10.00, that would be an enormous help in defraying our legals costs.
This all makes you think the Law Center isn't really getting behind this with much force.
posted by JimK at 7:43 AM
14 Comments:
Here's a great news piece:
"Under a decision by the state Board of Education, Maryland students soon will learn that homosexuality, bisexuality and transvestitism are normal sexual variations. They also will be taught that anyone who holds traditional religious or moral beliefs about homosexuality is "homophobic."
With help from the Thomas More Law Center, pro-family groups are appealing the decision to the Montgomery County Circuit Court.
“I’m impressed with the principled and steadfast opposition by these pro-family groups to this outrageously hedonistic and life-threatening sexuality curriculum," said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Law Center. "The Law Center will do everything we can to assist them in their fight.”
The pro-family groups oppose the program on several grounds: (1) it teaches students that homosexuality is “innate”; (2) it teaches students that anal sex is just another sexual option without warning students of the increased HIV/AIDS risk, even with a condom; (3) it labels as “homophobic” children who hold traditional religious or moral beliefs about homosexuality; and (4) it teaches students that transgenderism is just another “sexual orientation.”"
"Marie Mauel didn’t know right away that her 17-year-old son was addicted to drugs and thought seriously about suicide.
She didn’t even know immediately when he wrote about his problems in a 10th-grade health class assignment at Albert Einstein High School in Kensington.
Mauel claims her son was not helped right away, and as a result he had to endure weeks of suicide intervention at Washington Adventist Hospital, causing him to miss weeks of school.
So Mauel decided to sue Montgomery County Public Schools, the school board, her son’s health teacher and the Einstein guidance counselor for negligence.
In the lawsuit, filed June 7 in Circuit Court, Mauel asks for $200,000 in damages. She claims the school system and teachers had a responsibility to tell her about her son’s problems and a subsequent conversation he had with his health teacher, Meagan Schoen, and Einstein guidance counselor, Natalie Williams.
‘‘They never called us,” said Mauel, of Potomac. ‘‘They never mentioned it to the principal. They never called a doctor or the health room. This is not a safe action.”"
How long before a kid takes the new curriculum and decides from it that anal sex is safe with a condom and gets a STD and the parent files a lawsuit like this?
How long?
Jor El,
that "press release" is not true. Just more manipulation of the facts from the anti-gay industry. I think they have been addressed here. But I would like to see TFF do some type of outline pinpointing the accusations and refutations of them.
And there you go with that thing about anal sex.
I have a question - how much of a hop,skip, and a jump from talking about "dangers of anal sex" will there be from falsely calling anal sex "homosexual behavior?"
Jor-el said...
Here's a great news piece:
"this outrageously hedonistic and life-threatening sexuality curriculum"
__
You gave no link to verify your accusations, nor mentioned any source or title for someone to Google.
Do you honestly consider your posts to be "news pieces" now?
I don't know what part of it was yours and what wasn't, or was that your intent?
In addition to your hellish gripe against gays, is this the type of honesty which you wish to promote in the public school system?
The "news piece" is more FOTFA CitizenLink propaganda, not news.
http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000005163.cfm
The poster is one of 120,000 radical far right subscribers (wow, 20,000 more than the Washington Times, another spin factory) to this crap and regularly cites their spin as if it was "news."
FOTFA is the 501(c)(4) lobbying arm of Dobson's theocracy movement.
http://www.focusaction.org/Welcome/A000000105.cfm
Thanks for the info Anonymous.
And now back to Jor-el:
OMG, you’re quoting Citizenlink propaganda without saying so?!!
That’s TWO lies at once!
Welcome, Emproph
Seems several of you above are stating that the Citizen Link story about the lawsuit against MCPS had some lies in it. If so, let's here what they are.
Jim said about the lawsuit:
"Not much to it, just asking for review of the state board's decision."
Then, today, he posts a more "accurate" story which basically recaps the Citizen Link version of the lawsuit.
The papers that were actually filed were nothing, just a request for a review. The TMLC site gave some reasons they think the new curriculum will be thrown out by a judge, and I went through those.
They were nothing, too.
JimK
And what were the "lies" in the Citizen Link story?
u asked about the lies, jor-el. how is this for starters:
"Under a decision by the state Board of Education, Maryland students soon will learn that homosexuality, bisexuality and transvestitism are normal sexual variations. They also will be taught that anyone who holds traditional religious or moral beliefs about homosexuality is "homophobic."
and:
The pro-family groups oppose the program on several grounds: (1) it teaches students that homosexuality is “innate”; (2) it teaches students that anal sex is just another sexual option without warning students of the increased HIV/AIDS risk, even with a condom; (3) it labels as “homophobic” children who hold traditional religious or moral beliefs about homosexuality; and (4) it teaches students that transgenderism is just another “sexual orientation.”"
Jor-el said...
And what were the "lies" in the Citizen Link story?
August 06, 2007 12:12 AM
Are you and Theresa both obsessive insomniacs? Get some sleep, both of you. You're apparently going to need it when the new curriculum is implemented this fall.
Jor-el, are you a Christian?
-Patrick
This is in response to the Marie Mauel comments- I know Marie Mauel from a game site called Chess.net and for the past few years she has been logged in everyday for hours which made us all wonder who was watching her kids because she was literally always online !.. and then I heard about her lawsuit which is hysterical.. she is a stay at home mother and she didn't notice that her own son was on drugs?....it's not the school's job to notice that.. it's HERS lol.
If you can't take time off the computer long enough to bond with your children .. you can't expect their teachers to do your parenting for you !.. I'm curious at to whether she won her suit..it would be sinful if she did.
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