LEESBURG, VA. – A Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge issued a temporary injunction Tuesday reinstating a physical education teacher who told the County School Board that he would not respect the gender identity of transgender students by use of their preferred pronouns.
In his ruling, Circuit Court Judge Jim Plowman Jr. ordered that Byron “Tanner” Cross be reinstated to his job at Leesburg Elementary School and also wrote in a seven page opinion;
“The court finds that the plaintiff’s speech and religious continent are central to the determination made by the defendants to suspend plaintiff’s employment. […] The court further found that the weight of the evidence and the totality of the circumstances, show that the four prongs for issuance of temporary injunction have been satisfied.”
In an interview with WTTG Fox 5 in Washington D.C. Tuesday after the ruling, Tanner said; “We’re so happy- there’s lots of tears, lots of hugs,” he said. “We’re just happy that we were reinstated, and I look forward to going back to serving Leesburg Elementary.”
Cross told Fox News that he did not accept any science to suggest gender identity can change. However, he said he would call a child by their desired name. “I just can’t say things that are untrue,” he added.
Recently reinstated Loudoun County gym teacher shares whether he has any regrets after being placed on administrative leave following his opposition to his school’s new gender policies. @FitzFox5DC will have more from Cross tonight on FOX 5.
READ MORE: https://t.co/XoDQ4nk4yN pic.twitter.com/Bx06oRHmRp
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) June 8, 2021
Tanner is being represented by the anti-LGBTQ Alliance Defending Freedom, (ADF), a Scottsdale, Arizona faith based law group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has placed on its Hate Watch List, labeling it an anti-LGBTQ hate group due to its supporting the recriminalization of sexual acts between consenting LGBTQ adults in the U.S. and criminalization abroad; the fact it has defended state-sanctioned sterilization of trans people abroad; that ADF has contended that LGBTQ people are more likely to engage in pedophilia; and its claims that a “homosexual agenda” will destroy Christianity and society.
Recently the group has backed numerous pieces of anti-trans legislation aimed at banning trans youth, particularly trans-females, from participating in sports. ADF has also backed legislation that would ban physicians from treating trans youth under the age of 18 with hormonal treatments and other medical regimes.
A statement issued today by the group after the Judge issued his opinion read:
“Nobody should be punished for expressing concern about a proposed government policy, especially when the government invites comment on that policy. For that reason, we are pleased at the court’s decision to halt Loudoun County Public Schools’ retaliation against Tanner Cross while his lawsuit continues,” said ADF President and CEO Michael Farris. “Educators are just like everybody else—they have ideas and opinions that they should be free to express. Advocating for solutions they believe in should not cost them their jobs. School officials singled out his speech, offered in his private capacity at a public meeting, as ‘disruptive’ and then suspended him for speaking his mind. That’s neither legal nor constitutional. Dozens of other teachers have shared their beliefs on various policies without retaliation; Tanner deserves to be treated with the same respect.”
Stacy Haney, an attorney representing the school system, however, argued that “the action was based on interference of operation” — that is, that Cross’ actions disrupted the educational setting — and not on his beliefs. She also presented testimony from school officials that the teacher’s remarks had an adverse impact on the school and the system, the Loudoun Times-Mirror reported.
During a public comments session of the Loudoun County School (LCPS) Board session last month, Cross told the board; ““It’s not my intention to hurt anyone,” Cross said. “But there are certain truths that we must face when ready. We condemn school policies like 8040 and 8035 [LCPS proposed policy changes] because it would damage children and defile the holy image of god. I love all of my students,” he said adding, “But I would never lie to them regardless of the consequences. I’m a teacher, but I serve god first but I will not affirm that a biological boy can be a girl, and vice versa because it is against my religion- it’s lying to a child, it’s abuse to a child, and it’s sinning against our god.”
The ADF in its suit filed on June 1, wrote; “This case is not about how schools should treat students who struggle with gender dysphoria,” reads the lawsuit. “It is about whether public schools can punish a teacher for objecting, as a private citizen, to a proposed policy, in a forum designated for the purpose of considering whether to implement such policies, where the policy would force him to express ideas about human nature, unrelated to the school’s curriculum, that he believes are false.”
The Republican nominee in the Virginia gubernatorial race, Glenn Youngkin, had expressed support for Cross in a tweet and later in an interview with Fox News:
As governor, I will stand up for teachers like Tanner Cross. I am calling on the Loudoun County School Board to reinstate Tanner Cross fully because they have absolutely ignored his constitutional rights.
If we don’t stand up for our teachers and parents, who will? pic.twitter.com/mI5qGzfzBH
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) June 1, 2021
Wayde Byard, public information officer for the school system, in an email told the Loudoun Times-Mirror newspaper in Leesburg that Loudoun County Public Schools had no comment on the judge’s decision
Judge Plowman directed both parties to schedule a trial no later than June 16.
