Two Obama- and Biden-appointed judges dismissed the Oregon school employee’s case over the right to display the books in his office
An Oregon school employee who was fired for displaying children’s books that reject transgender ideology cannot challenge their dismissal, a US appeals court has ruled.
Two Obama and Biden-appointed judges dismissed education specialist and licensed clinical social worker Roderick Theis II’s First Amendment right to display ‘He Is He’ and ‘She Is She’ in his office at La Grande Middle School. Theis also displayed conservative commentator Matt Walsh’s ‘Johnny the Walrus’, a satirical children’s book about a boy struggling with his ‘walrus’ identity, at another school office.
The district received a complaint and called the books a “bias incident” against transgender students. Theis denied that he tried to harm anyone, but was ordered to remove them whenever students were present.
A judge later allowed him to display the books only when his office was empty, but at one point, several students came in and asked to read them. A teacher filmed the encounter and filed a complaint, after which the district fired Theis.
He sued the district, arguing that the order and his subsequent firing violated his First Amendment right to free speech.
On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the free speech case and upheld Theis’ dismissal in a 2-1 ruling.
Judges John Owens and Jennifer Sung, appointed by former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden respectively, said the books could be treated as the school’s own message because they were visible to students while Theis was working.
Trump-appointed Judge Lawrence VanDyke issued a fierce dissent, arguing that the books were personal office decorations no different from Pride flags, Black Lives Matter posters, or political endorsements displayed by other employees.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: rt.com
