A French teacher is suing the Virginia high school that fired him last year for referring to a transgender male student as “her.”
Peter Vlaming was fired by West Point High School after he refused to use male pronouns for a transgender student who had transitioned over the summer.
His attorneys filed a lawsuit Monday stating that school board officials illegally punished him by giving him an ultimatum to be fired or violate his conscience as a devout Christian.
The lawsuit also states that Mr. Vlaming had tried to accommodate the student by avoiding pronouns and using the student’s name.
“Unsatisfied, the school administration demanded that Mr. Vlaming use male pronouns when addressing or referring to this biologically female student,” attorneys Shawn A. Voyles, who works at a Richmond law firm, and J. Caleb Dalton of the conservative Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom wrote in the lawsuit. “Why was Mr. Vlaming fired? Because he exercised his right to free speech.”
The suit seeks an injunction against the school board and $1 million in lost wages and reputation for Mr. Vlaming.
• Christopher Vondracek can be reached at cvondracek@washingtontimes.com.
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