NE Florida News

Alliance Defending Freedom senior counsel Matt Sharp testified at the Senate Judiciary Committee on “Protecting Pride: Defending the Civil Rights of LGBTQ+ Americans.” Sharp advocated for protection from government coercion at the June 21 hearing, including situations like a suicide attempt from a 12-year-old in Jacksonville, Fla. in 2022.

"Laws and policies like the Equality Act that elevate 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity' as protected classes or that redefine 'sex' to include those categories (“SOGI”) are being misused by government officials to undermine freedom, fairness, safety, and the inherent dignity of countless Americans," Sharp testified: “Many of the federal government's rules and positions are driving this ideology. We’ve seen the administration push unlawful interpretations of Title IX and other laws that ignore the truth of what it means to be male and female. These policies demand that schools indoctrinate students in this gender ideology and even hide students’ mental struggles from their parents.”

According to the Alliance Defending Freedom website, Sharp joined the “world's largest legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, the sanctity of life, parental rights, and God's design for marriage and family,” in 2010. He works as the director of the Center for Legislative Advocacy and has performed multiple testimonies, written legislation, advised governors and state legislatures, and helped win court cases that upheld the religious freedoms of students

The Senate Judiciary hearing was on the topic of SOGI laws, pertaining to  “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” Part of the hearing included Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines and her testimonial on having to compete against a biological male in the finals, losing the championship and her protests against changing Title IX law to prevent discrimination on the basis of sex because it goes against someone’s “gender identity.” She said allowing mixed genders on the same athletic teams, in the same dorms, and in other intimate or competitive areas was a horrible act against women, Fox News reported.    

In his testimony, Sharp referenced a case from Jacksonville, Fla.

“A family was devastated when they received a call that their elementary-aged daughter had attempted to hang herself in the bathroom at school,” he said. “As the family pressed for answers from school officials, they discovered that their daughter had been struggling with gender confusion. The school had been pushing this confusion, referring to the young girl by male pronouns and hiding the young girl's struggles from the parents because of hostility against the family’s faith.”              

The events occurred at Paterson Elementary School in the Clay County District schools in Florida. The parents filed a lawsuit against the school and administration in January 2022, claiming that the school violated “confidentiality rights” laws to block them from being informed about their daughter. The school claimed they had the right to withhold information from the parents because of their Catholic religious beliefs, although their own district website quoted state law that said children do not have such rights because they are minors under the care of their parents.