Posted on 12/03/2005 5:14:42 AM PST by bulldozer
SANTA ANA, Calif. - A federal judge ruled that a lesbian student can sue her school district and her principal for revealing her homosexuality to her mother.
Charlene Nguon, 17, may go forward with her suit claiming violation of privacy rights, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna ruled in a decision dated Nov. 28 and announced Thursday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
Orange County’s Garden Grove district had argued that Nguon openly kissed and hugged her girlfriend on campus and thus had no expectation of privacy.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
It seems to me that the real issue is whether schools should report potentially troublesome behavior of a minor child to her parents. And the answer, clearly, is "Yes."
If a child is doing badly in one of her courses, the parents should be notified before they get the failing grade on a report card, so they can try to straighten it out. If a child vandalizes school property, the parents should be told. If a child misbehaves in any way, the parents should be told. The parents are the proper guardians of a child, and should normally be told about ANY potential problems their child is getting into.
So, why is this different? No, I know, I don't need to ask. Gay relations are a political third rail. Nevertheless, it's quite proper to tell the parents if a child is smooching on school property, with a member of the same or opposite sex. Whether or not it's a legal offense, the parents should know what their children are doing.
The real problem is that liberal judges want to keep parents entirely out of schools, so they cannot enforce their own values on their children. The schools want total control, so they view informing parents about how their children are doing as a violation of privacy. Nonsense. Minor children don't have privacy from parents if they are doing something wrong or questionable. Parents need to know what their children are doing.
This child's name sounds Asian. I would guess that she has strict, traditional parents of the Asian school, but that she is turning into a rebellious American teenager. It's a tough situation, but it isn't the school's job to help her rebel against her parents.
Looks like a slam dunk case FOR the school district to me!
About 10 or 15 years ago, someone told me that many (he used the word most) gays were abused as children. Don't know how true it is, but it appears that if that hypothesis is true, and I've seen it repeated here on FR, then her parental counseling will probably be far worse than good.
The agenda of the ACLU and the Left is to afford minors, a protected class, with constitutional "rights". Soon, 10 year olds can flip their parents the "bird" and be protected under the 1st. Amendment.
Marx marches on.
Maybe we need new street signs: "Someone's tongue down your throat? Get a room."
Federal Judicial Service:
U. S. District Court, Central District of California Nominated by George W. Bush on January 29, 2003, to a seat vacated by J. Spencer Letts; Confirmed by the Senate on March 27, 2003, and received commission on March 27, 2003.
Education:
Stanford University, A.B., 1967
Stanford Law School, J.D., 1970
Professional Career:
Captain, U.S. Army Reserve, 1967-1978
Private practice, California, 1970-1998 Judge, Superior Court, Orange County, California, 1998-2003
Race or Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
However parents, at first blush, act offended when you try and explain to them that minors do not possess any constitutional rights unless the child commits a crime. Children are a protected class. Rights are conferred at eighteen. The majority of America's parents do not realize that the ACLU is taking their kids away from them by granting minors "Rights". It's a paradox and it's sad.
Nope!
17 year old can't sue on her own behalf.
Well said.
Well, according to the leftist judges, children have a right to privacy when it comes to their parents knowing who, or what, they're screwing and whether or not a child is produced that they want to kill.
But on the other hand, it that abuse was at the hands of another (not the parents) the counseling could lead to the kid opening up and busting some cretan.
I agree. The left seems hell bent on destroying a parent's ability to "parent" their children. Look at Rob Reiner's attempt to start manditory Pre-School at four. Then it would be three, two...
Hillary's "It Takes a Village" is nothing more than an attempt to introduce this concept into the American psyche IMO.
Certainly true, but instead of a cookie cutter solution of letting the parents handle it, if they are the root of the problem, letting them handle it will probably not repair the issue.
I don't buy the theory that the majority of homosexual's parents influenced their choices.
You are advocating the prevention of parents being in the loop in all cases (of this variety), and I think that's unfortunate.
If you want on/off the ping list let me and little jeremiah know.
Yep, one out of six people in the U.S. lives in CA. You're going to read a lot of stories about weirdos, liberals, normal people, brave people, heroes and conservatives -- all from California. If you choose to make a note of just the weirdos, you will have the impression that everyone here is a nut job. It doesn't serve any purpose but to make you sound ignorant. If that's what you want though, go for it.
I'll get to work on my stupid farmer from Nebraska list.
I have been before Selna. He is a very smart, diligent, and cerebral judge.
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