Free Republic

Court upholds dismissal of suit over schools' same-sex teaching January 31, 2008 BOSTON—A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Lexington parents who objected to same-sex families being discussed in their children's elementary school classrooms. Tonia and David Parker of Lexington sued school officials in April 2006 after their son brought home a book from kindergarten that depicted a gay family. Joseph and Robin Wirthlin joined the suit after a second-grade teacher read the class a story about two princes falling in love. In a ruling Thursday, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...

Massachusetts Governor supports David Parker with statement on television the day following arrest:

Parker/Wirthlin lawsuit back in court Two families were back in court Wednesday to appeal the February dismissal of their federal lawsuit against Lexington and its schools.The three-judge panel of the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gave both sides 10 days to file supplemental briefs before beginning deliberations on whether the lawsuit should see a federal trial.The Parker and Wirthlin families’ lawyer, Robert Sinshiener, argued there are a set of facts to advance their claim that Lexington violated the families’ constitutional civil rights, specifically the right to the free practice of their religion. The two families sued the school district...

Lexington - On Monday, Sept. 24, authors of “Courting Equality: A Documentary History of America’s First Legal Same-Sex Marriages” officially commenced plans to donate a copy of their book to every public high school in Massachusetts. Greater Boston parents, families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) presented the first of these books to Lexington High School. The town of Lexington began receiving national attention when parent David Parker filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school system after his son was shown a book that mentioned the existence of families headed by gay couples. Brian Camenker of the...

A speech by a "parental rights" activist in Gloucester has been canceled after a gay marriage advocacy group threatened to protest what it deemed "hate speech." Cape Ann Marriage and Family, which characterizes itself as "pro-family" and has been active in advocating for a popular vote on gay marriage, had planned a meeting at a Main Street pizza parlor featuring a lecture by David Parker of Lexington. Parker is suing the state for the right to be notified when issues of sexuality, including gay marriage, are discussed in his young son's school. The case was initially dismissed but is on...

A Massachusetts man handcuffed and hauled to jail after he objected to a public school teaching his kindergarten-age son about homosexuality has gone to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seeking justice. The man, his wife and another family are battling what they describe as a court order for segregation, after a judge ruled if they didn't like the school's advocacy for homosexuality, they could take their children and leave. They also are arguing that U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf's statement that "as it is difficult to change attitudes … after they have developed, it is reasonable for public...

Lawsuit filed by Parkers, Wirthlins dismissed By Susan Bushey/Lexington Minuteman Friday, February 23, 2007 - Updated: 04:17 PM EST The lawsuit filed by residents David and Tonia Parker and Robert and Robin Wirthlin was dismissed from federal court earlier today. The lawsuit alleged the Lexington schools violated the families’ constitutional rights by including teachings about different types of families — including same-sex-headed households — in its curriculum. According to the decision, the couples argued that the school district’s conduct “violates their rights under the United States Constitution to raise their children and to the free exercise of their religion.” In...

BOSTON, MA (FRIDAY FEB. 23) This morning, federal judge Mark Wolf issued an outrageous and horrific 38-page ruling dismissing David Parker's federal civil rights lawsuit against Lexington, MA school officials. David Parker had filed the lawsuit, along with his wife and Rob and Robin Wirthlin, last April after the schools refused to notify parents when teaching about homosexuality and transgenderism in the elementary school. School officials, aided by national pro-homosexual groups, had filed a motion to dismiss the case which was argued before Judge Wolf on Feb. 7. Wolf's ruling is every parent's nightmare. It goes to extraoarinary lengths to...

David Parker had clearly made the big time as he joined a who's who of the religious right, including Tony Perkins (Family Research Council), James Dobson (Focus on the Family), convicted Watergate burglar Chuck Colson, Gary Bauer, Mitt Romney, and a host of others, at the so-called "Liberty Sunday" event. I wonder, as he soaked in his standing ovation, whether he thought about his town -- our town -- that he and the Wirthlins sued collectively, or his kid's teacher, or our school administration, which they also sued individually. I wonder if he thought about all the time, money and...

A group of gay and civil rights groups have filed a brief opposing the lawsuit filed by Lexington parent David Parker, who has sued his hometown school district for failing to notify parents in advance of in-class discussions about homosexuality.

MassResistance - ** Oct. 5 Email Update ** It's gone too far: Get involved! Join the movement to take back our government in Massachusetts! In this email update: 1. Major national gay groups, ACLU, and others file brief in federal court opposing David Parker's civil rights lawsuit on indoctrinating homosexuality in elementary school. 2. Days earlier: David Parker's lawyers file powerful rebuttal defending his right to bring federal civil rights lawsuit - in answer to motion to dismiss by defendants. 3. MassResistance radio - great show this weekend (and check out last week's show!) "Happiness requires freedom, but freedom requires...

LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, APRIL 27. Lexington parent, David Parker, was arrested today by the Lexington Police for “trespassing” at his son’s elementary school during a scheduled meeting with the principal and the city’s Director of Education over his objections to homosexual curriculum materials and discussions in his son’s kindergarten class. At the meeting, Parker demanded that the school inform him when homosexual subjects are to be discussed with his son, and allow his son not to be included in such activities. He said he would not leave until his request was granted. The Principal and the city’s Director of Education both...

Town wants suit dropped By Bethan L. Jones/ Staff Writer Thursday, August 24, 2006 - Updated: 08:18 AM EST Last week, the town of Lexington filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against School Committee members, former interim Superintendent William Hurley and current Superintendent Paul Ash, as well as a series of Lexington teachers. David Parker and his wife Tonia, along with Robb and Robin Wirthlin, filed a federal complaint against Lexington on the one-year anniversary of David Parker’s arrest at Estabrook Elementary School last April, alleging the town violated their civil rights by denying both families the option to...

The ugly battle about pushing the homosexual agenda on young children is about to come right out into the open, front and center. We are now seeing an Orwellian nightmare unfold before our eyes -- a serious legal claim that schools have a legal and constitutional mandate to unconditionally teach homosexuality to even the youngest of children, and that parents have no right whatsoever to interfere with that. On Tuesday the defendants in David Parker's federal Civil Rights lawsuit issued a blistering 57-page Motion to Dismiss, making dramatic legal claims that, if allowed to stand, could reverberate across the entire...

Letter: Teach your children well Thursday, July 27, 2006 David Parker is right - he should be allowed to "direct the moral upbringing of his children." As a parent, educator, and citizen, I am glad to see any parent take responsibility for his children's upbringing. I know of no one who would deny him this right. Unfortunately for Parker, he has chosen to instill in his children a sense of bigotry that that the majority in his community condemn. While it is a sad reality that in parts of the country people are judged by their race, gender, age, and...

I must confess that I had trouble following David Parker's rambling version of the events surrounding the schoolyard fight between his child and his child's friend (with whom he had a play date later that week). However, a few questions clearly remain unanswered: Why is Mr. Parker subjecting his young child to nationwide publicity through the press releases of a fringe political group? How does this help his child to have normal school relationships (or even a normal childhood)? How can he use his child to gain maximum publicity for his cause and at the same time decry the fact...

David Parker was arrested one year ago Thursday when he refused to leave his son's elementary school while protesting a gay book in his second-grade son's curriculum Parker had gone to the Estabrook School to criticize teachers for giving his 6-year-old a book about gay families. Parker is now one of two sets of parents expected to file a civil-rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Boston against the principal, the superintendent and other school officials. The suit, according to the parents' attorney, will contend that the school system violated the parents' civil rights because they weren't notified about the...

WHEN THE Massachusetts Legislature meets in joint session as a constitutional convention this week, the most notable item on its agenda will be a proposed amendment to ban same-sex marriage. A record-breaking 170,000 registered voters have signed petitions to put such an amendment on the state ballot. But the Massachusetts Constitution mandates a detour: The measure must first win the support of at least 50 lawmakers in two consecutive legislative terms. Only then can it be submitted to the people. If the amendment gets past every hurdle, it will reach the ballot in November 2008. It is a deliberately long...

It could happen here By Tom Mountain/ Our Turn The Newton Tab - Newton, Massachusetts Wednesday, June 28, 2006 All David Parker of Lexington ever wanted was for his young son to attend a normal school in a normal environment devoid of any ideology and propaganda that contradicted his Judeo-Christian ethics. All he ever sought was the respect and consideration normally granted to any parent of any child in any American public school. All he ever needed was an assurance from his child's school that his parental rights would be respected and upheld in accordance with state law and that...

Angry callers threatened to beat up the school superintendent. A school principal, bombarded by nasty e-mails, left town. Even David Parker, the father who stirred the controversy when he asked that his son be removed from class if homosexuality was covered, now is worried about his son's safety at school. The anxiety and suspicion that has gripped this progressive town over the past year shows the consequences for a community when a national political issue hits home. On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the only state to legalize gay marriage, in a nation with a president who wants to ban...