On Tuesday, the Supreme Court looked as if was leaning toward support for Maryland parents who objected to books with gay and transgender characters in primary schools due to religious beliefs.

In the 2½-hour oral argument, the conservative majority, which supports religious liberty, appeared sympathetic to parents' arguments that the Montgomery County Board of Education infringed their religious rights by not offering an opt-out for their children, as Fox News reported.

Some judges speculated that the board's unwillingness to offer an opt-out was motivated by religious prejudice. The court will rule by the end of June.

Montgomery County English language arts textbooks are in issue in a debate that has raged on since 2022 when the school board in the big and diverse region outside Washington requested more LGBTQ storybooks to properly represent its residents.

Case details

Muslims and Orthodox Christians objected on religious grounds under the First Amendment, arguing their children should be entitled to opt out of the content.

Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch was among several justices who questioned Lynne Harris's school board statements.

According to court documents, she said in a media interview that a student who objected to the books was "parroting dogma" from her parents and compared their complaints to white supremacists who opposed civil rights laws.

“Does that suggest a hostility toward religion?” Gorsuch asked in his questioning, citing a 2018 ruling in which the court ruled in favor of Jack Phillips, a Christian baker who refused to make a wedding cake to celebrate a gay couple.

Other Justices' big questions

The school board's decision to make providing an opt-out too difficult was met with disbelief from other conservative justices.

“Why isn’t that feasible?” Justice Samuel Alito asked. Similarly, Justice Brett Kavanaugh added, “I’m not understanding why it’s not feasible.

The school board argued that the policy did not require the children to affirm or support the content of the books, but Chief Justice John Roberts seemed skeptical:

"Is that a realistic concept when you are talking about a 5-year-old?" he asked.

Questions from the moms

According to Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the books seemed to be teaching kids more than simply accepting LGBTQ people as part of society.

"It's not just exposure to the idea, right?" she asked. "It's saying this is the right view of the world. This is how we think about things. This is how you should think about things. This is like 2 plus 2 is 4."

Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, on the other hand, seemed doubtful, pointing out that schools are not the only places where parents can voice their opinions on what their kids are learning.

"If the school teaches something that the parent disagrees with, you have a choice. You don't have to send your kid to that school," she said.