by Emma Sumlin • 3 minutes
First Liberty has been fighting for Carlos Encinas and his family for many months. Their school district wants to force their sons to affirm radical gender ideology materials that violate their religious beliefs.
I want you to put yourself in Carlos’ shoes for a moment.
Your children whom you love have been attending a school you trust. One of your sons is in 5th grade. A transformative time in his life. After school, he comes home and tells you he was forced to listen to a book about transgender ideology. Not only that, but the school forced him to teach it to his kindergarten buddy. Forced him.
How would you feel?
Studies have shown how harmful this ideology can be for children.
Joanna Williams at the Civitas Institute for the Study of Civil Society says that, “the school curriculum,…children’s fiction…all offer positive representations of both transgender youth and the process of transition. This creates a feedback loop: the more transgender children are discussed and positively affirmed, the more children come to see being transgender…as a credible solution to personal struggles with identity.”
Another study notes that transgender ideology destroys kids brains, prompts suicide and forms serious, life-threatening mental illnesses.
Carlos Encinas, a parent just like you, just like millions of parents across America, sees that. Yes, it goes against his beliefs as a Christian. However, above that, he knows it will deeply harm his kids.
Imagine the panic of finding these ideologies being taught to your child at school. And not only that, your child being forced to indoctrinate a kindergartner who looks up to him. Children who are too young to know anything about the adult activism behind it all.
And what’s worse? The school is hiding it from you.
Carlos talked to the school. They tell him his children have to learn and teach this material. They talk down to him as if he simply does not know what is best for his kids. But they do. They pretend the word “parent” does not apply when it comes to authority outside the home.
So, one day, Carlos and his wife realize they will have to make one of the biggest decisions of their lives. For their children. For their family.
They decide to sue the school. This takes massive courage. But at what cost?
The school will push back and opposing groups will attack. Their own children will be mocked and they might have to move schools. There may be days when others wonder why they care so much, when it was just a “silly little book.”
But Carlos never will see it in that light. He knows why he’s battling – for his family, and for every family in America. But his family will have to fight and fight until it’s won. And that battle may last years.
But it’s worth it. Courage is worth it.
Would you be able to have the courage, as a parent, to go up against a school district? The government? Culture? All to stand firm for what you believe in and the safety of the future generation?
Courage is easier said than done.
So, for Carlos, the weight is heavy, but the cause is decisive.
A parent loves no one more than their own children. Carlos loves no one more than his sons. What a beautiful thing it is to recognize that the Encinas boys get to sleep every night knowing that their father fought for them.
First Liberty is not just fighting for religious freedom or parental rights – we are fighting for children. Because in our country, no child should fall victim to the evils of radical gender ideology. That’s the bottom line.
Together we can protect them. We can stop these ideologies from polluting their minds and ruining their lives.
It’s a battle for our kids. And that’s why we must win.
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