A former orchestra teacher at Indiana's Brownsburg High School has come forward and admitted that he was forced to resign when he refused to comply with the district's policy on using trans students' preferred names, as per the Indy Star.
John Kluge, 28, is trying to win his job back and has argued that the trans-inclusive policy goes against his religious beliefs. "I'm being compelled to encourage students in what I believe is something that's a dangerous lifestyle," he told the Indy Star. "I'm fine to teach students with other beliefs, but the fact that teachers are being compelled to speak a certain way is the scary thing." Meanwhile, supporters of the LGBTQ community have admitted that the debacle isn't a matter of religion; it's an issue about respect. "This is not a request for advocacy," said Sam Brinton, head of advocacy and government affairs for The Trevor Project, a national nonprofit focused on suicide prevention in LGBTQ youth. "This is a request for respect."
Kluge has since hit back at the district, arguing that he only submitted a tentative letter of resignation. He reportedly tried to adapt to the policy by referring to all of his students by their last names, but his technique simply didn't work. "They're acting as if I have (resigned), even though I'm pleading, 'no,'" he said. "I'm not dead yet. I still want to work here."
News of the Brownsburg High School incident arrived just a day after word spread that the federal court ruled in favor of anti-gay baker and shop owner Jack Phillips in the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission case.
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