JURIST - Paper Chase: Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over same-sex marriage teaching in Massachusetts

[JURIST] US District Judge Mark Wolf dismissed [opinion, PDF] a lawsuit [complaint] Friday against a Massachusetts town that allows its public school system to teach children about same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive]. Two families of elementary school students filed the suit last year to stop the school from reading homosexual-themed books to their children without first notifying parents, arguing that the school's actions violated their right to free exercise of religion.

Students in a Lexington elementary school read the book King & King [Wikipedia backgrounder], which tells a story about a prince who rejects many princesses before marrying another prince. In his ruling, Wolf said "diversity is a hallmark of our nation. It is increasingly evident that our diversity includes differences in sexual orientation." Currently, Massachusetts is the only state to allow full same-sex marriage, which was legalized when the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts [official website] ruled [JURIST report] in 2003 that a ban on such marriages was unconstitutional. An appeal of Wolf's ruling is planned. Reuters has more. The Boston Globe has local coverage.

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