Battle over Pronouns Presents Growing Threat to First Amendment

Earlier this month, a Virginia high school teacher was fired over his declining to use a transgender student’s preferred gender pronouns. Peter Vlaming had been a French teacher at West Point High School for the last seven years. However, when a female student of his returned to school after summer break as a transgender male, Vlaming told the student that, because of his Christian faith, he could not refer to the student using male pronouns. This stance put Vlaming at odds with the school’s administration. Superintendent Laura Abel’s claims that Vlaming was causing a “hostile learning environment” seem absurd considering

Whose Children? Challenges to Parental Rights Multiply

Earlier this month, New Jersey became the latest state to institute a policy threatening parental rights — adding to a growing nationwide hostility to the already fragile institution of the family. The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) recently amended their existing anti-discrimination policy with the “Transgender Student Guidance for School Districts.” The guidance, among other things, instructs schools to use the preferred pronouns and names of students without the permission, or even awareness, of students’ parents. In order to manage this policy, schools are keeping two separate files for students: one with students’ birth names and genders which parents

Yale Pro-Life Conference Offers Glimpse of Movement’s Future

Last month, students at Yale University organized a pro-life conference called “Vita et Veritas.” The conference hosted seven excellent speakers from across the country and drew guests from several states, including students from Harvard, Hillsdale, Notre Dame, Princeton, and Yale. The conference kicked off with a dinner keynote address given by Karen Gaffney, a woman with Down Syndrome who advocates for people with Down Syndrome to be fully included in schools and communities. Her talk was an important reminder of the persons at stake on the other side of every pro-life policy, law or election. The lectures on Saturday covered