Christian teacher Byron "Tanner" Cross has claimed victory in his case against the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), which suspended him after he made controversial comments on the school's transgender-affirming policies during a public board meeting. A state judge in Virginia ruled that the school must take Cross off suspension and restore his position as a physical education teacher at Leesburg Elementary School.
FOX News reported that Twelfth Circuit Judge James E. Plowman not only ordered the school to reinstate Cross after he commented on biblical sexuality, but also argued that he was more likely to succeed if the case was brought to trial, saying that Leesburg Elementary School had "adversely impacted his First Amendment rights" and that his reinstatement as a P.E. teacher was within the "public interest."
In the letter by Judge Plowman made public on Tuesday, he argued that Cross "contends that his suspension was an act of retaliation following his exercise of his rights to free speech" and that the Christian teacher was "speaking as a citizen on a matter of public concern." The judge wrote that Cross was "speaking as a citizen, not in his official capacity" and that the "speech was not conducted at his usual place of employment, occurred during non-working hours and at a forum where public comment was invited."
The Virginia judge also rejected the school district's argument that Cross' suspension was not because of his comments on biblical sexuality that appeared in his speech but rather the "disruption" it created. The letter read, "The Court has found...that the disruption relied upon was insufficient."
According to WND, the judged ruled to "immediately reinstate the [Cross] to his position as it was prior to the issuance of this suspension and remove the ban that was placed upon him from all buildings and grounds of Loudoun County Public Schools."
The Christian teacher came under fire in May after he declared in a public speech that "a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa." Cross said that while he did not have the "intention to hurt anyone," there were "certain truths that we must face when ready," which included the fact that biblical sexuality states that there are only two genders.
In his speech, Cross said, "I serve God first and I will not affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa because it's against my religion."
"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," Alliance Defending Freedom president and CEO Michael Farris, who worked with Cross in his case, argued.
"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."
Farris said that other teachers have expressed their thoughts about biblical sexuality but did not suffer any consequences from it. He demanded the same treatment and respect for the Christian teacher in Virginia. Farris also argued that no individual should be "punished for expressing concern about a proposed government policy, especially when the government invites comment on that policy."
