1st Circuit Rejects Parents' Objections To Books Depicting Gay Couples

In Parker v. Hurley, (1st Cir., Jan. 31, 2008), the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a claim by two sets of parents that their free exercise and parental privacy-due process rights were violated when they were not given an opportunity to exempt their elementary school children from exposure to books that offended their religious beliefs. In one case, kindergarten and first grade children had available as supplemental reading the books Who's In a Family?. and Molly's Family. Both include depictions of families with same-sex parents. In the other case, a second grade teacher read aloud to her class the book King and King, the story of a prince who falls in love with another prince. The court also rejected a claim that exposure to these books violated the school children's free exercise rights. The ACLU issued a press release discussing the decision. (See prior related posting.) [Thanks to Marty Lederman via Religionlaw for the lead.]