Virginia elementary school teacher suspended for opposing gender policy must be reinstated, judge rules

Byron “Tanner” Cross, a physical education teacher, has won an initial battle with the Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), which placed him on leave after a controversial speech denouncing the district's gender-related policies.

Plowman argued that Cross was likely to succeed if his case was brought to trial, that the school district had adversely impacted his First Amendment rights, and that reinstating his job was within the "public interest." Cross sparked an uproar last month when he told LCPS' school board that he wouldn't "affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa because it's against my religion. It's lying to a child, it's abuse to a child, and it's sinning against our God."