Childcare worker fired for refusing to call girl, 6, made 'transgender' by same-sex parents, a boy

HOUSTON (Christian Examiner) – For four months the child came to school as a girl, and then suddenly as a boy – and now the manager of the daycare center the child attends has been fired for refusing to call a she a he, the Houston Chronicle has reported.

According to the paper, Madeline Kirksey has filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging discrimination after she – a black female over 40 who is a Christian – was terminated Nov. 3 for refusing to change the way she addressed a "transgender boy."

According to attorney Andy Taylor, who represents Kirksey, the teacher's rights "were not vindicated but destroyed."

Taylor said at a press conference Nov. 10 the case "involves a little 6-year-old girl who has been attending a private school in Katy, Texas, for the last four months as a little girl. She has parents who are a same-sex couple, two men, decided that she was transgender. ... On Friday, that little girl left school. I'm not going to use names, but (she was) known to everybody as 'Sally,' and on Monday this little girl returns to school calling herself 'Johnny.'"

At that age, they are still trying to decide what kind of ice cream and what kind of breakfast cereal they enjoy. And their opinions about things change, not only on a daily basis, but on an hourly basis. ... To inflict upon a little 6-year-old girl the heavy decision of her sexual identity is nothing short of child abuse.

Taylor has a history of high-profile cases. He led the legal battle against the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) that was defeated at the ballot box Nov. 3.

Opponents of HERO claimed the ordinance would have given transgenders the option of using the restroom of their choice, placing women and children in jeopardy. Taylor has also represented President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and the "Infamous 'Houston 5,'" pastors who preached against the HERO ordinance and had their sermons subpoenaed by Houston's openly-lesbian mayor.

Kirksey said at the press conference her concern was only for the little girl, who seemed to be confused about what had occurred, as well as for the other children who also were unable to understand what had happened.

"I think the decision is unfair for all of us. I have the right to stand up for what I believe and to protect the children that were in the program and, as I said earlier, if it costs me my job that's fine. I just believe I had to stand up in this instance to protect a six year old child's innocence," Kirksey told CBS-affiliate KHOU after the press conference.

Taylor said the situation was created by the parents who were forcing the child to be something she is not – and said she is not.

"The folks who are on the front line – the administrators, the bus driver, the teachers – they had a real issue on their hands. Transgenderism is a major and controversial issue for anyone, even adults. This is a little, innocent, 6-year-old child," Taylor said.

"At that age, they are still trying to decide what kind of ice cream and what kind of breakfast cereal they enjoy. And their opinions about things change, not only on a daily basis, but on an hourly basis," Taylor said. "To inflict upon a little 6-year-old girl the heavy decision of her sexual identity is nothing short of child abuse."

Taylor said the little girl naturally continued to use the girl's bathroom at the learning center and when she played football with the boys and was hit hard, she cried and said, "I'm really not a little boy."

The Children's Lighthouse Learning Centers, the company that employed Kirksey, and Akesha Wyatt, who was also fired, refused to comment on the matter, the Chronicle reported. Jamie Izaks, however, did say that Kirksey was not fired because of the issue raised by the presence of a transgender student.

However, a company termination report, provided to the media by Kirksey, says she "failed to follow company policy, using cell phone in the presence of children; gossiping, inappropriate conversation with parent." Houston's NBC affiliate, KPRC, reported that another line on the report, scratched through, claims Kirksey did not follow instructions when "requested by parents and management to call a transgender child by child's new name."

Taylor said in the press conference the transgender issue has finally flowered to the point where the rights of religious people cannot co-exist with those who are pushing that agenda.

"It's time for people of faith to stand up and to just say 'no' to the LGBT's insistence on pushing their agenda to the exclusion of the civil rights of everyone else involved," Taylor said. "We believe in equal rights and dignity for all. We do not agree with creating special rights where those rights are elevated and everyone else's rights are not respected. You can't pick and choose which child you are going to respect, because dignity is owed to all."