Calley Mangum | August 12, 2020 | SHARE: 
On June 15, 2020 and in the following days, I noticed many of my Millennial peers posting on Instagram and Twitter, celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County Georgia as a victory for freedom and liberty and an end to “discrimination.” In one swift act of legislating from the bench, our nation’s highest court redefined “sex” discrimination in federal employment law to include “sexual orientation and gender identity.” The effects of this ruling remain to be seen, especially since COVID-19 has necessitated some degree of isolation from the world around us. But soon, our children will be back in school; we will be back in our workplaces; and our churches will be meeting in sanctuaries once again.
So, while we may not yet have seen the impact of this ruling, I can assure you we will. And it will not be the impact many people—like my friends on social media—imagine. Perhaps Justice Alito put it best in his dissent on the Bostock ruling when he said, “…[T]he position that the Court now adopts will threaten freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and personal privacy and safety. No one should think that the Court’s decision represents an unalloyed victory for individual liberty.”
Now more than ever, parents need advice and resources to guide them in raising their children amidst a radical and vocal transgender movement, and in responding when they face transgender policies in their children’s schools—and they will face such policies. Our friends at Minnesota Family Council have assembled a comprehensive transgender resource guide for parents, and our article “Pink or Blue?” serves as an introduction to this guide. With most parents schooling their children at home right now, there has never been a better time to review this helpful information and prepare yourselves and your children for the brave new world we will all face once in-person schooling resumes.
We also know that many parents may have discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic—if they didn’t know already—that not every child learns the same way, and not every form of schooling suits every child. We hope this discovery will garner more supporters for the school choice movement, and this magazine features an article outlining “The Triumph of School Choice” by Dr. Terry Stoops of the John Locke Foundation. Dr. Stoops presents statistics on not only the value of school choice in North Carolina, but also its popularity across a wide range of demographics.
Finally, some of the best knowledge comes through experience, and two families with significant experience on the adoption front have graciously shared their stories with us in this issue. Tony and Lesley Biller, and Chris and Dani Irving have adopted multiple children, and they provide advice, encouragement, and insight for anyone seeking an inside look at adoption.
We hope you enjoy this issue of Family North Carolina magazine! Please feel free to pass this issue along to others, and you are welcome to contact NC Family to request some extra copies to pass out to friends, family, and your communities.
Calley Mangum is the Communications Associate for the North Carolina Family Policy Council and is Editor of Family North Carolina.
