After telling his school board that “affirm that a biological boy can be a girl and vice versa,” a physical education teacher at Leesburg Elementary was placed on administrative leave with pay.
On Tuesday, Tanner Cross put on display his opposition to certain school policies relating to gender. “My name is Tanner Cross and I am speaking out of love for those who are suffering from gender dysphoria,” Cross said.
He spoke of young students who believe they are the opposite gender and make a grave mistake.
“’60 Minutes’ this past Sunday interviewed over 30 young people who transitioned but they felt led astray because of lack of pushback or how easy it was to make physical changes to their bodies… They are now detransitioning,” he claimed.
Cross went on to explain that his intentions are out of love rather than hate.
“I love all of my students but I will never lie to them regardless of the consequences. I’m a teacher but I serve God first and I will not 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.”
It seems that Cross’ stance is mainly in relation to children. In reality children do not have the full mental capacity necessary to make long term decisions that will impact them positively most of the time.
“It’s not my intention to hurt anyone, but there are certain truths that we must face when ready. We condemn school policies [that] would damage children, defile the holy image of God.” Cross said.
The school policy that cross objects to states “School staff shall, at the request of a student or parent/legal guardian, when using a name or pronoun to address the student, use the name and pronoun that correspond to their gender identity. The use of gender-neutral pronouns are appropriate. Inadvertent slips in the use of names or pronouns may occur; however, staff or students who intentionally and persistently refuse to respect a student’s gender identity by using the wrong name and gender pronoun are in violation of this policy.”
And another policy says that all transgender students must be allowed to participate in activities corresponding with their gender identity.
