‘How did this happen?’ Author reacts to ruling on LGBTQ books in school lessons

A children’s book author never imagined her work would wind up in a Supreme Court discussion, so it was “surreal” to be mentioned in the case of Maryland elementary school parents who sued their school district to allow them to opt their kids out of reading books with LGBTQ+ themes.

In a case that originated in Montgomery County, the high court ruled Friday that schools must provide notice and an opt-out option when assigning books with LGBTQ+ themes.

Sarah Brannen wrote one of the books a group of parents sued the school board over – “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” – in the early 2000s.

It tells the story of a little girl who gets upset when her favorite uncle announces he’s getting married, worrying he won’t have time for her anymore. After spending time with the couple, she quickly realizes having two uncles is better than one.

“I wrote the story because my niece wanted every story to end with a wedding,” Brannen said. “And same-sex marriage had just been legalized in Massachusetts, and there were basically no picture books for young children with two moms or two dads.”

“Listening to the oral arguments was the most surreal experience of my career,” she said. “But reading the decision today, I, I just kept thinking about the day I thought of writing this book 20 years ago, and how did this happen? How does it become part of the law of the land?”

LGBTQ advocates spoke outside the Supreme Court after justices said parents can opt their children out of lessons with LGBTQ books. News4’s Dominique Moody reports.

The parents argued the school district violated their First Amendment right of religious freedom, and the Supreme Court’s conservative majority agreed.

“We hold that the Board’s introduction of the ‘LGBTQ+-inclusive’ storybooks – combined with its decision to withhold notice to parents and to forbid opt outs – substantially interferes with the religious development of their children and imposes the kind of burden on religious exercise that [Wisconsin v.] Yoder found,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion.

In the dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, “Today’s ruling ushers in that new reality. Casting aside longstanding precedent, the Court invites a constitutional right to avoid exposure to ‘subtle’ themes ‘contrary to the religious principles’ that parents wish to instill in their children.”

“It’s important for children to see books about families different from theirs, too,” Brannen said.

Here’s what the Supreme Court ruled on Friday, including on judges’ authority and whether parents can opt out their kids from school lessons including books with LGBTQ themes. News4’s Jessica Albert reports.

The ruling sends the case back to a lower court that will decide on the “opt out” issue.

Brannen said she’s devastated by the decision, but she’s also learned an important lesson.

“How important picture books are,” she said. “It might be easy to dismiss them because they’re just short and they have little pictures and they’re bunnies and things, and it’s not. “They’re tremendously important, and I write my books always thinking about the readers.”