Virginia Teacher Fired for Refusing to Use Transgender Pronouns
Richard Moorhead
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A Virginia local school board decided to terminate a French teacher for his refusal to address a transgender student with their preferred pronouns on Thursday.
Peter Vlaming, 47, had been in an ongoing dispute with school officials over the matter, insisting that being forced to use trans pronouns would be a violation of his Christian religion.
Vlaming had taught at West Point High School for seven years, and many students and parents felt compelled to mount a campaign in his defense. However, it made no difference to the West Point School Board, which cast a 5-0 unanimous vote to terminate his employment with the school district as a result of the matter.
Vlaming’s dispute with a transgender student originated when the individual returned to his class for a second year after “transitioning” over the summer. Vlaming had agreed to refer to the student by their new male name, but wanted to avoid describe the individual as a ‘he,’ or ‘him.’
School administrators claimed that Vlaming’s refusal to use male pronouns to describe a previously female student violated the school district’s nondiscrimination and harassment policies.
Parents and teachers attended the board meeting in which his firing was ruled upon, almost all with the intent of supporting someone who they saw as an ideal teacher, soccer coach and community role model. Vlaming had the chance to speak in his own defense before the vote, stating that requiring him to use new pronouns for transgender students was a form of “coercion” and noting that he had tried to reach an agreement with the aggrieved trans student.
Vlaming now takes an unfortunate place as the latest casualty of a leftist cultural regime intent on purging Christians, conservatives, and traditionalists from any institution it can wrap its jaws around.
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