A federal appeals court ruled last month that an Oregon school counselor broke hate speech laws by showing two children’s books about the difference between boys and girls. The court said displaying “He is He” and “She is She” wasn’t protected by the First Amendment. Ryan Bomberger, who wrote the books with his wife Bethany, spoke out against the decision in an interview with The Daily Wire.
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From the Daily Wire:
“We wanted to take this insane pronoun issue and just make something that spoke truth about the human condition and celebrate what it means to be a boy, and celebrate what it means to be a girl,” Bomberger said. “It celebrates motherhood, fatherhood, the means by which all of us exist. So, what’s more inclusive than a book that speaks to the heterosexual self-identity of more than 90% of Americans? How is that not inclusive?”
“The books are so beautifully illustrated. They are diverse. As someone myself, I’m mixed white, black, part Asian, part Native American. I’m a mixture of all things,” he said. “It’s laughable that the school sees these books as being hostile in any way, shape, or form.”
“There was one complaint from a teacher who only saw the covers,” Bomberger explained. “That teacher is the one that set up the two 8th graders who came and insisted on reading the books. It was not genuine interest. It was set up.”
The counselor at the center of the case, Roderick E. Theis II, worked for the InterMountain Education Service District for more than 15 years before he was fired. He was let go after a teacher secretly recorded him showing the books to eighth graders who had asked to see them. Bomberger says the same district allows teachers to display BLM and LGBT materials without issue, calling the double standard “highly discriminatory against the nuclear family, against fatherhood, against black conservatives.”
Alliance Defending Freedom is representing Theis and has vowed to keep fighting for his right to free speech on the job. Bomberger hopes the case gets appealed, arguing that the court misapplied Kennedy v. Bremerton School District — the Supreme Court case that protected a football coach’s right to pray on the field. He believes government employees shouldn’t lose their constitutional rights simply because they’re at work.
This case is a clear example of how far the Left will go to punish anyone who states basic biological truth. A man lost his job for showing books that simply affirm what boys and girls are — while schools regularly promote far more controversial material without consequence. We are called to be salt and light in a dark world (Matthew 5:13-16), which means speaking truth even when it costs something. If the government can punish speech that lines up with both scripture and science, we have every reason to stay engaged and unafraid.
Share this story so more people know what’s happening in our schools. Support organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom that stand up for religious liberty and free speech. And most importantly, stay involved in your children’s education — don’t leave their understanding of truth up to the school system or the culture around them.
What are your doing about this issue? Share your scriptures and prayers in the comments below.
(Excerpt from the Daily Wire. Photo Credit: Caleb Oquendo)
