Part 2 from the court case involving parents vs. Bow School District.
In part 1, of the lawsuit against Bow School District, you will read a summary from the court proceedings involving parents who were issued no trespass orders for wearing a pink wristband to a Bow girls soccer game. Those parents then filed a lawsuit against the Bow School district because they believed their free speech rights were violated. The parents wore the XX wristbands to support girls-only soccer teams because of the unfair advantage biological boys have when playing on the girls’ teams. Parents also expressed their concern for injuries that could come from girls playing against biological boys.
Today, Superintendent Marcy Kelley, from SAU67, took the stand to explain her part in determining how these parents would be treated during the soccer game. She was questioned about her role in how the school officials would deal with the parents who would be attending the game. She based her decision on exchanges she had with the parents, and an email she received from another parent who claimed these parents planned far more than just wearing wristbands.
Kelley felt that the XX wristbands were anti-trans symbols that the parents were wearing. She based that on a few reasons, including what Riley Gaines has done as a public figure. The judge, at one point, asked her what she believed anti-trans meant, and Kelley explained that it meant keeping trans players off of teams and, essentially, not being inclusive of trans students. Kelley is certainly entitled to her beliefs, just like the parents are entitled to believe that their wristband message was pro-women and girls. One of the parents told the judge that he didn’t have any issues with trans people, only that he felt a biological boy, should not play on the girls sports teams.
This is what the vast majority of people believe. It’s not that they are anti-trans because if a trans team was created, no one would care. If they were really anti-trans, they wouldn’t want trans students in the schools, or have the ability to play on any sports teams. In fact, most people are perfectly fine with a trans student playing on the boy’s team if they are a biological boy; they just have a difference of opinion on this issue.
We’ve heard trans kids say they are NOT comfortable on a boy’s team even if they are a biological boy. But many girls have been silenced if they don’t feel comfortable playing against a biological boy. That’s what happened in Kearsarge. The Kearsarge girls were silenced when they complained to school administrators about a biological boy on their team who was sharing the girls locker room with them. Their discomfort was met with disdain, and the girls were shut down and silenced.
CENSORSHIP
Bow administrators decided to censor viewpoints on girls/women’s sports when they banned XX wristbands at soccer games. However, the district fought parents who wanted to remove pornographic books available to children in the school library. If you go to the school’s discussion on these pornographic books, you will hear one resident speak about censorship. At 27:24 where he says, “censorship is the last gasp of a failed idea.” He goes on to explain why these pornographic books should remain available to children because he says that it’s an admission by those in charge that their ideas can no longer withstand reasonable discussion and debate based on the facts. And as a result they have to prevent their members or citizens from learning about alternate ideas so they don’t realize that the existing situation is no longer tenable. He goes on to argue against removing these obscene books available to children in the school library.
Parents oppose obscene books in the hands of children because it’s considered child sexual abuse to make available pornographic content to children. Stopitnow.org explains to their readers that providing this kind of content is considered child sexual abuse.
Bow officials seem to be saying, sexually abusing children with pornographic books is ok. Wearing a wristband with XX written on it is not ok. Bow’s administrators seem be be saying, censoring XX wristbands is ok, but censoring porn from kids is not ok.
SEXUAL PREDATORS WELCOME
That brings me to the sexual offender who attended several soccer games in Kearsarge this year. Kearsarge school administrators were aware that Marc Jacques would be attending their girl’s soccer game because his son, who identifies as a female, plays on the Kearsarge soccer team. During several games this season, Marc Jacques roamed freely around the spectator section with his phone out.
This was concerning because his crime centered around Jacques taking pictures of children, superimposing them on a sexually graphic body, and sharing them with online sexual predators. Jacques never received the treatment the parents in Bow received. No one cared about protecting all of the children attending the Kearsarge games.
The Kearsarge staff never told school officials in other districts that their children may encounter a child sexual offender if they attended a girls soccer game. No one seemed all that concerned about a child sexual offender roaming around the soccer game.
At the September 17th soccer game in Bow, the 3 parents wearing an XX pink wristband were badgered to remove them by the Principal, Athletic Director and a police officer. School officials threatened to shut the game down when the parents challenged this directive. The game was even suspended until these parents complied. All of this concern over wristbands, and no concern for a sexual offender at the other soccer games.
WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
1) XX Wristbands supporting women’s/girls are some hate symbol now aimed at the trans community.
2) Pride flags that many religious people feel are aimed at them are embraced in public schools. I suppose some HATE is ok as long as it’s the right hate.
3) Sexual offenders are welcome at public school soccer games; anyone with a wristband supporting girls/women’s sports will be issued trespassing orders.
4) The people running the schools will fight for the trans students but will not for the religious students. (Animal Farm–some animals are more equal than others)
Bow also has decided to include a protest zone at athletic events in the future. It was interesting to hear the judge question Kelley about that decision. Kelley said she was trying to protect a trans student from seeing a wristband, and the judge questioned how a protest zone would alleviate that problem. If the protest zone is there, the trans students can still see the protesters.
There were several Bow staff members in court all day yesterday and today, and have spent time with attorneys going over their testimony. The district is paying the three attorneys who are representing the district with possibly more paralegals assisting in this case. In other words, there is a lot of money being spent on this case by the taxpayers in SAU67….ALL FOR WHAT?
Remember this, Bow and Dunbarton taxpayers, the next time you vote on a school budget. Instead of apologizing to the parents for this ridiculous over reaction, Bow administrators used the school budget as a slush fund to pay for this court hearing.
It’s your money SAU67 taxpayers. If you want to let the school administrators waste your money on court cases, don’t complain when your property tax bill arrives in the mail.
