A transgender pretender teacher at a high school in Florida has sued the state over a law that bans the teacher from using preferred pronouns at school.
The teacher “Ms. Wood”, who I will assume is a biological male, wants to be called by his preferred pronouns and will correct anyone who misgenders him.
The case is being brought on a first amendment basis and is being compared, by Wood. to the high school coach who won his case at the Supreme Court over praying on the football field.
The Obama judge presiding over Wood’s case believes Wood will win the case and has thus ruled in his favor, prohibiting the state from enforcing the law against him while the case plays out.
Here’s more from The Hill:
A transgender teacher can use her preferred pronouns while at work despite a restrictive Florida law, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.
Katie Wood, who teaches at Lennard High School in Ruskin, is suing the Florida Department of Education over a law that bans the use of pronouns different from those assigned at birth.
Those who violate the law could be suspended or have their teaching certificate revoked.
Chief United States District Judge Mark E. Walker, an Obama appointee, wrote that Wood is “substantially likely” to succeed on her First Amendment claims and issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state from enforcing the law against her, pending her lawsuit. The injunction applies only to Wood and not statewide.
“Once again, the State of Florida has a First Amendment problem,” Walker wrote. “Of late, it has happened so frequently, some might say you can set your clock by it. This time, the State of Florida declares that it has the absolute authority to redefine your identity if you choose to teach in a public school. So, the question before this Court is whether the First Amendment permits the State to dictate, without limitation, how public-school teachers refer to themselves when communicating to students. The answer is a thunderous ‘no.’”
Walker wrote that without an injunction, “Ms. Wood’s speech will continue to be chilled based on a state law that directly penalizes her protected speech in violation of her First Amendment rights.”
Wood is known “in every aspect of her life” as “Ms. Wood,” which nearly all of her students would use when referring to her. Her title and preferred pronouns were written on the classroom whiteboard and on a pin on her lanyard, according to court documents.
Wood would correct any students who misgendered her, according to the documents.
Walker’s ruling cites a 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of a public school football coach, Joe Kennedy, who lost his job for praying on the football field.
“Like Coach Kennedy’s professed faith, Ms. Wood’s preferred pronouns and title are uniquely personal to her,” Walker wrote. “In the same sense that Coach Kennedy’s public prayers identify him as a man of faith, Ms. Wood’s expression of her preferred title and pronouns identify her as a woman.”
This is nothing like the case in which the coach was fired for praying on the football field. That was a constitutionally protected exercise of religion. Wood’s delusion that he’s a female isn’t a matter of free speech at all. In fact what Wood really wants to do is force his students to call him by his preferred pronouns, which would infringe on their speech. That’s really what this is about and this Obama judge is going to get overruled if the state appeals this decision.