Court Ruling Upholds GSA Group in Okeechobee. FL. High School
COMMENTARY
From ACLU LGBT Project and EQualityGiving
"I just had to write and tell you about a decision we got this morning. This is a really great ruling, rejecting the latest scheme to keep LGBT high school kids closeted and scared.
A group of kids at Okeechobee High School in Florida asked for permission to set up a Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) as an official school club. In their application, they said the purpose of the club was to "promote tolerance and equality among students, regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender identities…." The students complied with all of the schools rules for official clubs.
First the school sat on the application. Then, when pressed, the principal denied it. The GSA, she said, was a "sex-based" club.
Allowing it to meet would conflict with school discipline and with Florida’s "abstinence-only" policy.
This morning, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, ordering the school to grant the club official school club status, and to let it meet at school.
The ruling is important because, following the advice of anti-gay legal groups, schools all over the country have begun to argue that GSAs are inherently inconsistent with "abstinence-only" policies. The judge here dismissed that, saying there is no reason to assume that the existence of a club devoted to equality for LGBT people would obstruct courses on abstinence. The judge also said there is no reason to think that promoting tolerance will involve obscene materials.
It’s a pretty thorough rejection of the "inherent inconsistency" view, and it comes from a pretty conservative federal judge.
There is one other sweet moment in the decision. To explain the law on the federal Equal Access Act and GSAs, the judge cites five cases.
The first was brought by the ACLU in Minnesota, the second by the ACLU in Georgia, the third by the ACLU in Kentucky, the fourth by Lambda Legal in California, the fifth by Lambda and the ACLU in Utah.
It's nice to be able to see so vividly the impact the work is having.
Rob Rosenwald of the ACLU in Florida stood up in court for the kids in this case.
Thanks for helping to make this case and the others possible."
Matt Coles
ACLU LGBT Project
From ACLU LGBT Project and EQualityGiving
"I just had to write and tell you about a decision we got this morning. This is a really great ruling, rejecting the latest scheme to keep LGBT high school kids closeted and scared.
A group of kids at Okeechobee High School in Florida asked for permission to set up a Gay/Straight Alliance (GSA) as an official school club. In their application, they said the purpose of the club was to "promote tolerance and equality among students, regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender identities…." The students complied with all of the schools rules for official clubs.
First the school sat on the application. Then, when pressed, the principal denied it. The GSA, she said, was a "sex-based" club.
Allowing it to meet would conflict with school discipline and with Florida’s "abstinence-only" policy.
This morning, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction, ordering the school to grant the club official school club status, and to let it meet at school.
The ruling is important because, following the advice of anti-gay legal groups, schools all over the country have begun to argue that GSAs are inherently inconsistent with "abstinence-only" policies. The judge here dismissed that, saying there is no reason to assume that the existence of a club devoted to equality for LGBT people would obstruct courses on abstinence. The judge also said there is no reason to think that promoting tolerance will involve obscene materials.
It’s a pretty thorough rejection of the "inherent inconsistency" view, and it comes from a pretty conservative federal judge.
There is one other sweet moment in the decision. To explain the law on the federal Equal Access Act and GSAs, the judge cites five cases.
The first was brought by the ACLU in Minnesota, the second by the ACLU in Georgia, the third by the ACLU in Kentucky, the fourth by Lambda Legal in California, the fifth by Lambda and the ACLU in Utah.
It's nice to be able to see so vividly the impact the work is having.
Rob Rosenwald of the ACLU in Florida stood up in court for the kids in this case.
Thanks for helping to make this case and the others possible."
Matt Coles
ACLU LGBT Project
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