Three Bow parents took the school district to court today after they allege the school district violated their free speech rights.
Three parents wore pink wristbands to a girls soccer game with XX written on them. They did this to express their support for girls/women’s sports. Some described this as a peaceful protest since there was no verbal expression of any kind. Everyone was sitting and standing at the game cheering on their team. None of these parents made a scene or caused any kind of disruption during the game.
At one point members of the Bow school and a police officer, asked the gentlemen to remove their wristbands. After challenging this request, they ended up removing the wristband so the girls could continue to play their game. The parents were threatened that if they did not remove the wristband, the game would be stopped, and the Bow team would have to forfeit the game. On top of that, two parents were issued no trespass orders. The parents quickly moved to challenge what they consider a violation of their free speech, by filing a lawsuit.
At the court hearing today, the attorneys for the Bow school district argued that they were simply protecting the trans student who played on the Plymouth soccer team. You would have thought these parents were convicted child sex offenders the way they were treated. Even the child sex offender in Kearsarge wasn’t treated like this when he sat on the sidelines watching his son play on the girls soccer team.
But what makes this worse is, according to the Concord Monitor: “A group of Bow parents say the Pride Flag displayed at Bow High School’s music room is an example of the school’s district’s viewpoint discrimination.“
During the court hearing, it was mentioned that the pink wristbands have been described as hateful since it is a statement supporting that only biological females should be playing in girls sports. A trans student may feel that those who do not agree with their political position, is expressing hate speech. But even hate speech is protected under the U.S. Constitution.
If a wristband with XX on it is considered hate speech, then what does a pride flag hanging in the music room represent to religious students who have a different viewpoint on LGBTQ issues? Should we conclude that Bow staff should be protecting religious students in the school, and demanding PRIDE flags be removed? It sure sounds like it. Don’t religious students have equal protection under the law?
Based on the arguments laid out by the defense, I think I’d be talking to a lawyer and asking them why the Bow staff never protected their religious students from the hate-filled PRIDE flag hanging in the music room.
Other points to also consider:
1) How much money did the BOW taxpayers spend on defending this court case ?
2) How much money did the BOW taxpayers spend on salaries for the staff members who were sitting in the court room?
3) What would have happened had a woman worn a t-shirt with XX on it? Would they have required her to remove it?
4) Why are some political viewpoints embraced by the BOW staff, while others are considered a threat to students?
5) If there are any political symbols left in the school, why are they still there? That could be a threat to the student who is also part of the protected class under the anti-discrimination law.
6) Who harasses an elderly military veteran sitting on the sideline wearing a pink wristband, to watch his granddaughter’s soccer game? What is wrong with the staff members who go along with this nonsense?
7) How much are the taxpayers paying to have police officers enforcing a policy aimed at adults who are peacefully expressing their political viewpoint?
8) Would they have harassed any spectators for wearing a PRIDE flag pin? I don’t think so. And I don’t think anyone cares if another adult wore a PRIDE flag pin to the game.
All of this shows that BOW has a political agenda, and they are willing to punish those who do not go along with it. They are even willing to waste tax dollars on a court case to fight their ridiculous stance.
Most residents see through all of this– let’s just hope the Judge does too.
Bow School District’s Hypocrisy Problem Challenged in Court
