(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Stephen Miller's odious legal foundation takes aim at Arizona transgender kids [1] [] Date: 2023-11-26 Most high school bullies move on after high school and either stop bullying altogether or set their sights on vulnerable adults—like asylum-seeking immigrants or the low-wage factotum who’s forced to squeegee Donald Trump after late-night Arby’s bacchanals. But former Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller is special. The same guy who thought it was a rad idea to forcibly remove children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border is now pretending he cares about parents’ rights—and so he’s harassing transgender kids to make his point. The America First Legal Foundation, which Miller serves as president, is currently suing Arizona’s Mesa Public Schools and its superintendent because they’ve decided to treat transgender students as human beings instead of political pawns. Of course, that’s an outrage to Miller and his ilk, who want to make America great again, like in the good old days when mastodons immediately gored anyone who came anywhere near the Bering land bridge. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Mesa Public Schools governing board member Rachel Walden, seeks to turn back policies the district has instituted to protect the rights of transgender kids. Arizona Republic: The suit alleges the school district's guidelines for supporting transgender students violate Arizona's parents' bill of rights law, which says parents have the right to direct their child's upbringing, education and health care. The district's guidelines permit transgender students to access facilities consistent with their gender identity and to use names and pronouns that reflect their identity. The lawsuit claims the district purposely keeps parents out of the loop when a gender-related support plan is implemented for their child. [...] In the spring, the district sought legal advice from Udall Shumway, a Mesa-based law firm, on the guidelines. A lawyer from the firm told Mesa Public Schools' general counsel in a May letter that the guidelines do not appear to violate state or federal law, and there seems to be "no contradiction between what the law requires under the Arizona parents' bill of rights ... and what the Guidelines recommend to staff as a tool to assist in addressing the students' needs." Good God, what a loathsome little man. And I realize I’m inviting a cease-and-desist—and a likely lawsuit—from the Loathsome Little Man Council, but it had to be said. But this isn’t the group’s first foray into evil. It’s also tackling the all-important kitchen-table issue of transgender girls who dare to play sports. The America First Legal Foundation has also tried to defend Arizona's law prohibiting transgender girls from competing on girls' school sports teams. Over the summer, Miller's group filed a motion to intervene to defend the law on behalf of the conservative group Arizona Women of Action. That motion was denied. The group also filed a brief supporting an attempt to overturn a preliminary order in the case. That appeal is still pending. As the Arizona Republic notes, the America First Legal Foundation has filed dozens of lawsuits across the country “challenging school districts’ policies related to LGBTQ+ students and challenging private companies’ programs to promote diversity, alleging they are examples of reverse discrimination against white people and men.” Meanwhile, the organization is not keen on Mesa Public Schools’ “Guidelines for Support of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Students,” which were created to “help schools ensure a safe learning environment free from discrimination and harassment, and to support the educational and social needs of transgender and gender nonconforming students.” Of course, while Miller and his group are ostensibly intervening on behalf of parents, a June letter from Superintendent Andi Fourlis to families who have children enrolled in Mesa Public Schools emphasized that parents are consulted every step of the way: When a student or parent reaches out to a school for support, the Transgender Support Plan is a tool leaders may use to clarify how the student’s needs can be accommodated. As I become aware of public comments on this topic, I hear a concern that students are placed on Transgender Support Plans without parent notification. That is not the case. I have also heard that the Transgender Support Plan is a plan to help students with medical transitions. That is also not true. Not that Miller cares about the truth, especially if it interferes with his inalienable right to be an A-hole. This is the same guy who helped bury a Health and Human Services report that proved immigrants contribute more in federal, state, and local taxes than they receive in benefits. Because we can’t let people know that immigrants are a net plus for society—and always have been. If Americans understood that, the Thousand-Year Trumpian Reich might last only 950 years or so. And where would we be then? We wish Stephen Miller the best of luck as he transitions from human being to Beelzebub’s Diet Coke gofer. Hopefully, he ruins as few lives as possible in the process. Check out Aldous J. Pennyfarthing’s four-volume Trump-trashing compendium, including the finale, Goodbye, Asshat: 101 Farewell Letters to Donald Trump, at this link. Or, if you prefer a test drive, you can download the epilogue to Goodbye, Asshat for the low, low price of FREE. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/26/2207458/-Stephen-Miller-s-odious-legal-foundation-takes-aim-at-Arizona-transgender-kids?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=top_news_slot_4&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/