Two Colorado families sue school district after teachers urge daughters to join 'secret' LGBTQ club

2023-05-09 11:49

The teacher gave out 'LGBTQ paraphernalia such as toys, flags, and other swag' to students who 'came out' as transgender

WELLINGTON, COLORADO: Two families in Colorado have taken legal action against the district where their children attend school due to claims that teachers and other staff members urged their daughters to join an LGBTQ club and kept their actions a "secret." America First Policy Institute and Illumine Legal filed a lawsuit against Poudre School District on Wednesday on behalf of Johnathan and Erin Lee and Nick and Linnaea Jurich, whose sixth-grade daughters attended Wellington Middle-High School.

Parents were unaware of the operations of the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), and club leaders strongly urged students to keep discussions about polyamory, puberty blockers, transgenderism, gender identity, sexuality, suicide, and name and pronoun changes hidden from their parents.

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Who are the parents?

Parents Johnathan and Erin Lee, and Nick and Linnaea Jurich, whose sixth-grade children attend Wellington Middle-High School (WMS), filed a lawsuit against the Poudre School District on Wednesday with the assistance of America First Policy Institute and Illumine Legal, as per the lawsuit obtained by the Daily Caller.

Teachers also invited substitute teacher Kimberly Chambers, the executive director of the group Supporting Pride Learning and Social Happenings, to speak at one of the GSA meetings that Lee's daughter attended. SPLASH "seeks to educate school-aged children on topics of sexuality and gender identity." During a speech to the school club on May 4, 2021, Chambers allegedly "told the children that if they are not completely comfortable in their bodies, that means that they are transgender." Additionally, the teacher encouraged pupils to talk about the sex and gender they are attracted to and gave out "LGBTQ paraphernalia such as toys, flags, and other swag" to students who "came out" as transgender.

What are their claims?

The Lee family claims their daughter did not even fully comprehend what suicide was at the time when the teacher warned students that there was "a higher likelihood of suicide by transgender youth." Additionally, Chambers advised children to deal with her or other teachers rather than their parents because it "might not be safe to tell their parents what happened at the GSA meeting or to talk about transgender issues." She gave the kids her phone number and instructed them to add her on Discord so they could talk to her whenever they wanted.

'Months-long emotional decline'

The Lees were happy that their "shy" daughter was asked to participate in school events as she hadn't had plenty of chances to make friends, but they became concerned to learn that when she told them she "would be transitioning—despite never having thought about transgenderism before the meeting" after going back home from the event. However, the lawsuit claims that after experiencing a "months-long emotional decline of gender and sexuality confusion that required counseling and included suicidal thoughts," their daughter still harbored the urge to change.

The Jurich family filed a lawsuit because their daughter experienced similar treatment to that of the Lee family, in which students were advised by Jenna Riep, a WMS art teacher and staff sponsor of the school's GSA club, "that if they did not like their bodies, they were most likely not the gender they were 'assigned' at birth." In addition, Riep "encouraged secrecy, confidentiality, and suspicion about whether her parents could be trusted with these discussions" and invited the Jurich family's daughter to a meeting with SPLASH, the group that Chambers was affiliated with.

Why are they angry?

Their daughter "began to have her first suicidal thoughts" after the meeting, and she started writing them notes about transgenderism and claiming to be "aromantic" and "asexual." She started to doubt her gender identity in the fall of 2021. According to the lawsuit, "After her experiences at the GSA club, her relations with her friends deteriorated, and she was not comfortable with the idea of potentially taking classes with Riep." The emotional health of their daughter "underwent a significant decline" to the extent that she sought homeschooling. In the end, she ingested an ounce of bleach in an effort to commit suicide, and ever since, she has "verbalized that her disturbed emotional state began when she attended GSA at WMS."

What is the rule of law regarding LGBTQ in the state?

Colorado is often referred to as one of the Mountain West's most LGBT-friendly states. It is ranked second in the region for LGBT rights legislation by the LGBT think tank Movement Advancement Project, after only Nevada. According to a 2019 poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute, 77% of Colorado citizens supported anti-discrimination legislation protecting LGBT individuals, as per Wikipedia.

'Why keep it a secret?'

Meanwhile, the internet has slammed the "secret" LGBTQ club and sided with parents. A user tweeted, "I support lgbtq in every way it should be as public as possible ." Second one wrote, "Gross as they should. Clubs like that shouldn't be allowed in schools." A third user asked, "I thought that those people were proud of who they are. Why keep it a secret and from the parents?" "Hope the families win the case !!" said another user. "I would be so pissed!" remarked one user. Another person remarked, "Alarming."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.