Compliance!
By Mitch Berg
This got some headlines yesterday: a group of Somali Muslim families in Saint Louis Park pushed back against the school board, with the aid of a couple of conservative public interest law firms, and forced the district to allow their children to opt out of LGBTQ content in school.
I’ve added emphasis:
This change comes after two public interest law firms, True North Legal and First Liberty Institute, sent letters to the school district saying the district’s previous denials of opt-out requests violated the First Amendment and state law.
In 2023, six Muslim families requested that St. Louis Park public schools provide notice before LGBTQ-affirming books were discussed in class. These families, who emigrated from Somalia over the last two decades, also requested the ability to opt out their children from participating in the curriculum.
According to previous press statements from the two law firms, third- and fourth-grade children who were members of the six families were exposed to LBGTQ content in October 2023. These LGBTQ-centric readings were also allegedly accompanied with the teacher’s commentary on LGBTQ identity. This situation caused “significant confusion and distress” amongst the six families.
The school district was reportedly, uh, not cooperative. Contrary to some social media palaver, this affects parents of all faiths at SLPS.
The system, naturally, is not amused:
It’ll be interesting to watch the bureaucrats response.
February 16th, 2024 at 11:52 am
So, for now anyway, Somalis can still trump the LGBTs on the Victimhood Scale.
That said, however, I’m at a loss to understand why a couple of conservative public interest law firms would assist Somalis.
February 16th, 2024 at 12:27 pm
I can see the support for the Somalis here; the “love that dared not speak its name” has become “the love that will not shut up”, and parents do indeed have the right to object when their schools try to indoctrinate their children. Good for them.
Regarding teaching about LGBTQ…. issues, I’m all for that. Can we start with what the #1 predictor for HIV infection is in our country? What about sky-high levels of mental illness, drug use, STDs, domestic violence, and more?
Oh, that’s not what they wanted to teach, is it? And that’s why we object.
February 16th, 2024 at 1:01 pm
Nice work, LGBTQ perverts! Start a war with the Muslims.
February 17th, 2024 at 5:55 am
Bedfellows make strange politics. Indeed, an alliance between conservative public interest groups and Somalis might seem unlikely, but not when one thinks of this from a Libertarian perspective. The LBTQXYZ faction is allowed to practice their peculiar institutions but they don’t have the right to force other groups to accept public school indoctrination of behavior that runs contrary to their beliefs.
February 19th, 2024 at 5:53 am
jdm.
Conservative law firms were probably the only ones who would take the case. DemoCommie aligned lawyas are pussies. They are afraid of the backlash that they would get from all of the party apparatchiks and their foot soldiers. Those firms would rather sue bakers for refusing to bake a cake for an alphabet couple.
February 19th, 2024 at 2:52 pm
Conservative law firms were probably the only ones who would take the case. DemoCommie aligned lawyas are pussies. They are afraid of the backlash that they would get from all of the party apparatchiks and their foot soldiers. Those firms would rather sue bakers for refusing to bake a cake for an alphabet couple.
Or to put it another way, “Dollars earned from Somalis are still green”
Unless they took this case pro bono.
February 19th, 2024 at 6:14 pm
^ My point was that if a conservative public interest law firm wants to assist Somalis in this case because it’s the right thing to do and/or they can make some money, that’s fine. If they’re doing it to ingratiate themselves with Somalis, to curry favor and get them to think “oh, those conservatives (Republicans) sure seem nice, we’re gonna vote for them”, I think it’s a waste of time. YMMV.