SUNBURY – As the Selinsgrove School District prepares to discuss transgender issues at an upcoming meeting, a man from the Liberty Counsel is sharing his opinions on the matter. Richard Mast is senior litigation counsel at the organization, who firmly stands against schools allowing transgender students to use the bathroom of their gender identity.
Mast, a recent guest on WKOK’s On The Mark program, talked about how the law Title IX will play into the board’s decision, “Title IX in neither federal law nor state law does it require the school district to abolish privacy and to disrespect the basic nature of the genders of the biological sexes. So, we stand ready to assist the district if they do the right thing. On the other hand, if students experience a violation of the rights, we would have to take action on behalf of those students. We’d much rather prefer to assist the district, though, and to move forward in a collaborative manner.”
Mast says even with policy and times changing, he believes biology matters, “What we’re seeing, unfortunately, is a full court press by advocates who want to change the country’s perception of reality. They’re doing it in the business world, they’re doing it in schools, and they’re doing it like this. They’re trying to push this notion that gender can be transcendent and that’s simply not the case. Biology matters and reality matters.”
Mast says the board should think about religious liberty and other safety concerns when approaching their decision, “The school district should stand firm and be confident that they have the law on their side. The law stands on the side of privacy, religious liberty and safety concerns of the parent.”
The Selinsgrove Area School District’s board of education is holding a special meeting at the middle school on Wednesday, November 30 at 7 p.m to give parents, students, and district employees a chance to voice their opinions on transgender issues. Richard Mast was a recent guest on WKOK’s On The Mark program. You can listen to his full interview online at our website www.wkok.com.
