Anthony Brown's previous stint as Lt. Governor with Governor Maryland O'Malley was lackluster. He didn't really ever stand for anything or do anything of import. He couldn't even win a gubernatorial race against a Republican in a majority Democrat state in 2014.
Now it appears he is trying to make up for the pitiful performance by trampling all over parental rights in Maryland as he is one year into his term as Maryland's Attorney General. It's not his most recent act of any import. He has been spending 2023 attempting to neuter local police and sheriff's departments with frivolous charges and policy interpretations that make no sense by design. It's clear that our chief law enforcement official in Maryland doesn't like police.
Now it's clear that he doesn't like parents either.
Earlier this year, a group of Muslim and Christian parents in Montgomery County sued the county school systems to allow parents to opt their children out of being read stories promoting the LGBTQ lifestyle. Parents objected on religious grounds as their youngsters, some as young as kindergarten, were being exposed to topics that violated parents' religious beliefs. They asked that their children be removed from the classrooms when such stories were read.
A federal judge ruled against them saying there was no violation of the First Amendment rights of the parents. So the parents took their case to the U.S. Fourth District Court of Appeals. Of course, AG Brown couldn't wait to co-author the case against the appeal along with AG's from the progressive states of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, the state of Washington and Washington, D.C., along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Human Rights Campaign Foundation and GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.) Joining Brown to co-lead the argument is Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell (D).
They all banded together to put their boots on the necks of parents who don't want their children taught values in school that violate their religious beliefs or better yet, who just want their kids taught how to read, write and do math, not sexuality. Based on state and national test scores, math and reading skills are no longer the public schools' priority. Social engineering is.
Attorney General Brown and his cohorts are on board with that.
“Our schools play a fundamental role in shaping the minds and hearts of the next generation, and it’s our duty to ensure that every child feels safe, supported, and valued,” Brown said in a statement. “Educational policies that promote respect for LGBTQ+ people will help build a more equitable future for all children.”
Maybe he doesn't understand the main mission of an education system which is to teach academics. Or maybe he just wants to pervert that purpose to suit his own person political agenda and the agenda of his progressive donors.
The State of Maryland and the other states involved believe in the rights of SOME parents, just not others. Imagine if gay or trans parents protested a teacher reading a book in class that promoted the belief that marriage is solely between a man and a woman, or that only biological women can have babies. Those parents wouldn't have to demand an "opt out." AG Brown and the rest of the Progressive left would trip over themselves running to the nearest microphone to decry such a violation of parental rights. But this Montgomery County suit is being brought by the wrong parents, with the wrong narrative, for the wrong cause.
The Montgomery County Parents have filed a reply to the argument. “The Parents seek only to restore the opt-out rights already required by Maryland law and Board policy – rights still permitted for all instruction except the Pride Storybooks,” according to the plaintiffs. “The Parents’ pre-existing notice and opt-out rights should be restored.”
It's odd that this case should meet such resistance from the Maryland government since the right has been given to parents on other issues. But maybe that's the point. Maybe if they win this case, Brown and his crew can remove other opt outs as well.
That would be catastrophic to parental rights in Maryland. If successful, the formerly hapless Maryland State's Attorney General will be empowered and will set his sights on ALL opt out clauses, forcing parents in each Maryland public school system to allow their children to be indoctrinated into every Progressive policy, gender ideology, sexual practice and fringe idea.
After all, destroying police departments in the state seems not to be enough for AG Brown. Now he needs to destroy the education system as well. He's making up for all those years of doing nothing.
