“Don’t Say Gay”

April 30, 2025

Mahmoud v. Taylor: Threatening to Universalize “Don’t Say Gay”

Unfortunate news, folks: the Supreme Court is poised to decide a case that could impose a national “Don’t Say Gay” law for all public schools in the U.S. Mahmoud v. Taylor centers on a Maryland school district’s approval for some books with LGBTQIA+ themes to be used in public schools. The books include Born Ready, a story about a trans child, and Love, Violet, which centers on two young girls and their playground romance.

At first glance, the case resembles cases of book banning. However, here, the plaintiffs aren’t asking that such books be banned from classrooms. Rather, they’re asking that they be notified if teachers choose to rely on materials with LGBTQIA+ themes, so they can have their children “opt out” of the lessons due to religious beliefs. In other words, as John R. Vile explains, these parents aren’t objecting to the books being on the shelves; they’re objecting to teacher-led discussion of those books.

Unfortunately, we have a pretty good sense of where the Supreme Court is heading: ruling in favor of the plaintiffs. During oral argument on April 22, 2025, all six conservative Justices “appeared absolutely convinced” that the school district had violated the Constitution.

As Justice Sonia Sotomayor commented, past cases before the Supreme Court have involved parents objecting to lessons spanning from divorce to interfaith couples. Where would we draw the line? How much can parents micromanage public school teachers?

Ian Millhiser warns that this case has far-reaching implications beyond LGBTQIA+ content. Should the court fully adopt the plaintiffs’ arguments, “unworkable obligations on public schools…will prevent them from functioning.”

We at the Woodhull Freedom Foundation staunchly oppose classroom censorship. This anti-LGBTQIA+ effort, framed as somehow concerned with the 1st Amendment, blatantly ignores the rights of public school teachers and students to teach and access age-appropriate, educational information. We urge you to contact your local public school district and voice your concerns about Mahmoud and the looming danger of increased censorship.