Virginia teacher who was fired for not using transgender student's preferred pronoun as it violated his 'conscience' sues school
WEST POINT, VIRGINIA: A Virginia high school teacher who was fired for refusing to use a transgender student's preferred pronoun has filed a lawsuit against the school officials and the board.
The former teacher, 47-year-old Peter Vlaming, had taught French at the West Point high school since 2012 when he was fired in December 2018 after the school board voted unanimously to terminate his contract for "insubordination", according to NBC News.
Vlaming states in his lawsuit, which was filed this past Monday, September 30, in King William County that he was fired because he would not use pronouns such as "him" and "his" to refer to a female student in his class who was transitioning to male.
He said using the pronouns would have violated his "conscience" as it went against his Christian faith and religious beliefs. He avoided using pronouns altogether and, instead, called the student by his preferred name.
When the school administrators found out, they reportedly asked him to use male pronouns or risk losing his job.
The suit also stated that Vlaming was accused of using female pronouns while discussing the student with other people, and that, during one incident in class, he referred to the student as "her".
The teacher acknowledged the mistake but insisted that it was unintentional and said that he discussed it with the student after class.
Vlaming said he had explained his religious beliefs to administrators on multiple occasions but was informed that by refusing to use male pronouns, he was violating the school board's policy.
"Defendants did not have any written policy regarding using pronouns," the suit read.
"Defendants made up an uncompromising interpretation of their policies to compel Mr. Vlaming to take sides in an ongoing public debate regarding gender dysphoria and use pronouns that express an objectively untrue ideological message."
It argued that the school board and officials violated Vlaming's right to freedom of speech and sought $1 million in damages, reinstatement in his job, and a declaration that his rights were violated.
"He wasn't fired for something he said," it stated. "He was fired for what he didn't say." The school board has said it "denied any liability" and that it intends to "defend against any claims."