Students To Rally Against Hate Tonight
This month, a far-right hate group led by Stephen Miller, whom the Southern Poverty Law Center designates as an extremist, sued Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) for affirming the basic rights of LGBTQIA+ students.
In response, the Pride Liberation Project has announced that queer students and allies will rally against anti-trans hate at the March 21 school board meeting, 6:00 p.m. at Luther Jackson Middle School (3020 Gallows Rd., Falls Church).
The lawsuit, filed by right-wing legal group “America First Legal,” sued FCPS over their Regulation 2603.2 — specifically the policy that students will be allowed to use the restroom that corresponds with their consistently-held gender identity. The suit was filed on behalf of an unnamed FCPS senior, whom the complaint claims “lives in daily fear that if she speaks in a manner that is consistent with her sincerely held philosophical and religious beliefs, she will be subject to discipline, chastisement, and/or social ostracization.”
Part of the district’s Special Services department, Regulation 2603.2 focuses specifically on the health and welfare of gender-expansive and Transgender students. The regulation begins by establishing its purpose:
“To establish procedures and guidelines for schools to ensure that all students, including gender-expansive and transgender students experience a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment.
“All students have a right to privacy in Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) facilities or while participating in FCPS sponsored events. Any student who has a need or desire for increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason, shall be provided with reasonable, non-stigmatizing accommodations. Students shall not disclose private information about another student’s reason for seeking privacy. Additionally, school personnel should not disclose information about a student’s gender-expansive or transgender status, legal name, or sex assigned at birth, including to other school personnel who do not have a need to know, unless the student has authorized such disclosure, or unless legally required to do so as further outlined below.”
Regulation 2603 has provided safety and comfort to many students, including Moth DiNizzo, a McLean High School junior.
“The fact that so many of my friends and teachers respect my pronouns and my name is life saving to me,” DiNizzo said. “I know that they care about me and trust my own self perception. It’s wonderful and I want everyone to experience that same joy of being known and trusted.”
DiNizzo isn’t alone. According to the University of Texas at Austin, using a student’s true name and pronouns in even one correct context is associated with a 29 percent decrease in suicidal thoughts.
“I’m really hoping that Fairfax County and our school board will stop this attempt to hurt and degrade my fellow students,” said Laura Troung, a senior at Falls Church High School. “LGBTQIA+ students are already disproportionately facing the youth mental health crisis in addition to bullying and harassment at schools and this is just adding salt into the wound.”
The Pride Liberation Project is a 500+ member student-run group of Queer and allied students in Virginia who advocate for the rights of LGBTQIA+ students. Representatives of the Pride Liberation Project have testified at School Board meetings and the General Assembly, and the organization continues to lobby local and state governments to promote the interests of LGBTQIA+ students.
Living in Daily Fear
I’ve gotta say, when I read that the Jane Doe complaint claimed she “lives in daily fear” is pretty outrageous. The lawsuit is a complete misuse our justice system.
People have a great deal of varied “sincerely held philosophical and religious beliefs.” We are all entitled to our beliefs, but that doesn’t give us license to mistreat others.
What exactly did this student want to express?
LGBTQ+ people exist. We just are. Conservatives are flooding courtrooms and state legislatures with attempts to deny us rights, based on the belief that we are somehow immoral — the implication being that we are actually heterosexual, pretending to be LGBTQ+ for some sort of sinister purpose.
I believe that, over the long-term, equality and kindness will win, even as the short-term sees legislation targeting Trans, Nonbinary, and other LGBTQ+ people passing in conservative state legislatures.
If we want society to effectively and sustainably move away from these culture wars, we need to do more than battle at the ballot box (but please still vote). We need to change our mindsets.
It is important that both sides are heard in most situations, but impartiality does not require ignoring lies, or allowing hate speech and disinformation to be spread. We need to be more aggressive in rejecting bad behavior (lying, cheating, stealing) in society.
We must remind ourselves that the freedom we enjoy in this country extends not only to people we like or agree with, but everybody — even those we disagree with, or that we find annoying or offensive. Especially those people.
We also need to wholly reject the claim that “religious freedom” includes the freedom to harm, reject, or mistreat others, regardless of the belief.
Reminder: NOVA Pride Prom
NOVA Pride Prom 2024 will be held on Saturday, April 27 at the Falls Church Community Center. The event provides area high schoolers with a safe, fun, and inclusive night to enjoy Prom as their authentic selves. LGBTQ+ High Schoolers and their straight allies are encouraged to attend this amazing event! Tickets are just $40, thanks to generous support from Visa and GLSEN.
For tickets and details about NOVA Pride Prom, visit prideprom.org. To volunteer or chaperone the event, email this writer at brian@novapride.org or breach@fcnp.com.
We want this year’s event to be the best yet, so please spread the word!