The Supreme Court of the United States will consider the complaint of a believer from Ukraine regarding a book that her son is studying.

The Supreme Court of the United States will consider the complaint of parents who want to exempt their children from studying books about LGBTQ due to religious beliefs. Among them is Ukrainian Orthodox believer Svitlana Roman. This decision was made after the Montgomery County school district decided not to allow exemptions from lessons about LGBTQ and discussions of books about these characters. The parents demand the restoration of their right to refuse to study these books based on religious beliefs. The court will hear this case in the near future.

Previously, the Montgomery County Board of Education repealed a rule that allowed students to opt-out of lessons about LGBTQ and to report on readings of books with these characters. These books were approved for the language and arts program for the upcoming school year. Among them is a book about a lost dog in a LGBTQ march and a story about two transgender students.

Some parents have begun to submit requests to exempt their children from reading and discussing these books based on religious beliefs. The Montgomery County Board of Education, in turn, denied such an exception from schooling. This caused dissatisfaction among the community, and about a thousand parents supported a petition calling for the restoration of their right to refuse to study these books. Also, three pairs of parents have filed a lawsuit, claiming that their religious rights were violated.

In this case, the parents of boy Tamer Mahmoud and Enas Barakat, Chris and Melissa Persak, and Svitlana Roman, who is an Orthodox believer, are participating. Federal courts had previously dismissed their lawsuit, but now the case will be considered by the Supreme Court of the United States. The parents argue that the appellate court's decision deprives them of the right to raise their children according to their religious beliefs.

The Supreme Court has not yet determined when exactly it will consider the case. Either way, this decision is very important, as it pertains to the balance between national laws and religious rights.

Society's Attitude Towards LGBTQ

Ukrainian society primarily has a neutral or friendly attitude towards LGBTQ people. Over the past few years, attitudes toward this community have gradually improved.

Some politicians, however, have a negative attitude towards LGBTQ representatives. For example, member of parliament Mariana Bezuhla emphasized that they have psychophysiological deviations and considers that these are deviations from the norm. She noted that this does not mean that she is against them, but believes that these conditions are deviations or illnesses.

Recently, a lecture at the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School was recalled due to inappropriate views of the lecturer on the LGBTQ+ community.