Peter Vlaming’s lawsuit against West Point High School alleges that he was fired for not using “him” and “his” for a female student who was transitioning to the opposite gender. In the suit, filed September 30, Vlaming notes that using the male pronouns were against his “conscience” and his religion, so he refused to use the pronouns and just used the student’s preferred name.
School administrators warned Vlaming to use male pronouns or risk being fired. The school made good on its promise and fired Vlaming December last year. He had been teaching at the school since 2012. Vlaming is suing for $1 million.
“Defendants did not have any written policy regarding using pronouns. …” the suit notes. “Defendants made up an uncompromising interpretation of their policies to compel Mr. Vlaming to take sides in an ongoing public debate regarding gender dysphoria and use pronouns that express an objectively untrue ideological message.” The school did not comment, but the school board “denies any liability” and says it will “defend against any claims.”