Judge smacks down dad’s demand to hang straight pride flags in kids’ classrooms

Yes, there’s something called a “Straight Pride” flag.

And no, an indignant Denver parent can’t force his local school district to hang them up in classrooms.

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In a lawsuit filed against Denver Public Schools, Nathan Feldman claimed both he and his two children were discriminated against by a policy that allows teachers to hang Pride flags in their classrooms at their discretion. Feldman said his family’s First Amendment rights were infringed upon when school administrators rejected his demand to hang “Straight Pride” banners up alongside LGBTQ+ flags in Mile High classrooms.

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Feldman sued for the flags to be hung and for damages of at least $3 million.

In August, Federal U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak recommended that Feldman’s claims be dismissed, Colorado Politics reported.

The judge cited an opinion by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who wrote, “When the government speaks for itself, the First Amendment does not demand airtime for all views.”

“Here,” Varholak explained, “DPS selected the Pride Flag, and not Plaintiffs’ Flag, as representing the message that DPS wished to convey. Conversely, there is no allegation that DPS had a history of accepting for display other flags submitted by the public.”

Feldman’s sex discrimination and equal protection claims over the absence of a flag representing cisgender, heterosexual students were meritless, Varholak found.

“Plaintiffs plainly disagree with DPS’s selected messaging, and phrase this disagreement in constitutional terms,” he concluded, “but ultimately fail to allege any injury except exposure to a flag that they do not feel represented by.”

The ruling follows a June 26 order by U.S. District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez, who found that the Pride flags were the government’s own free speech, which she said the First Amendment doesn’t regulate. As a result, the decision to not hang Feldman’s flag doesn’t violate his rights.

“DPS policy reflects careful consideration about what views can be expressed and that any expressions must reflect DPS’s policy of equality and inclusion. Accordingly, the Court finds that DPS has maintained control over the flag displays,” Rodriguez wrote.

That policy was addressed by DPS attorneys in their response to Nathan’s allegation of censorship. Individual teachers, they wrote, make the decision to display LGBTQ+ flags in their classrooms “consistent with the District’s equity-based curriculum.”

“Plaintiffs assert that passing a resolution recognizing LGBTQIA+ students or staff without providing equal recognition to those who don’t so identify is an actionable distinction. Not so,” the DPS attorneys wrote.

Feldman’s lawsuit incorrectly contended Denver schools were allowing “nonbinary and non-cisgender students to have flags displayed that represent their genders but not allowing Plaintiffs to have flags displayed that represent their genders.” Gender and sexual orientation are two different attributes of identity.

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