We are thrilled to announce that we have secured a significant legal victory on behalf of our clients, the daughters of Rachel Sandoval and Suzy Johnson, in their case against the Los Alamitos School District.
These little girls were forced to share a room, overnight, with a counselor who, when asked by a student, “Are you a boy or a girl?” replied, “I prefer they/them pronouns.”
Parents were not informed that the camp, Pali, would be teaching these subjects to their children. Their children were not able to call home, even when so upset that they cried themselves to sleep.
What was the camp’s response to LRI’s lawsuit alleging these harms? What possible defense could they give for exposing children so callously, without their parents’ consent, to unfamiliar, highly-polarizing, sexual beliefs?
The camp, Pali, responded by claiming that because the communications from their camp staff to the children were regarding “nonbinary gender identification, the use of preferred pronouns, and other matters concerning gender and sexual identity,” and were “topical,” these actions were protected as free speech.
According to the camp, the reason that it was fine to indoctrinate and forcibly expose little girls to LGBTQ propaganda without their parents’ consent – was because they were teaching radical, LGBTQ propaganda.
Thankfully, and due to the ferocious efforts of LRI’s attorneys, the camp’s motion alleging this was overruled.
In a scathing criticism, the Honorable Judge Vu ruled:
“Here, Plaintiffs' causes of action are not based on conduct that relates to Defendant Pali' s right of petition or right to free speech.”
Vu said, instead, that the harm resulted from Pali’s failure to inform parents of the subjects to which their children would be exposed and from prohibiting the children from calling their parents.
Vu concluded by saying that the lawsuit would be essentially the same if the parents had
“alleged that Defendant Pali and its employees had discussed other topics to which Plaintiff and their parents and/or guardians objected, such as racist or sexist ideology.”
This ruling affirms that actions have consequences and organizations cannot hand-wave about free speech to dodge blame. It represents a victory not just for our clients but for individuals everywhere who seek justice and accountability and resent the ever-increasing encroachment into parental rights.
We may have won a victory, but the case is far from finished. If you’d like to support these little girls in their legal efforts, please donate here: https://www.givesendgo.com/losal. This case is being funded entirely through the generosity of people like you.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who has supported us throughout this case, and we extend our gratitude to our team, whose dedication and perseverance have been instrumental in securing this victory.