Maryland
Carroll County school board prohibits Pride flags
Activists, politicians have sharply criticized policy
The Carroll County Board of Education adopted a policy on Wednesday that prohibits Pride flags from being displayed in schools under its jurisdiction.
Under the new policy, which the board adopted by a 4-1 vote margin, flags that are not specifically included in its language cannot be “flown, posted or affixed” to school buildings and facilities. The language signals that, although the policy does not explicitly mandate a ban on Pride flags, such flags cannot be displayed, as they are not included in the list of flags that the policy permits.
Patricia Dorsey, the only board member to vote against the policy, expressed her disapproval of the measure to the board during the meeting.
“I think that we’re doing them a disservice if we do not include saying that, ‘Yes, let’s just go ahead and have their safe spaces designated by the flags in the classroom,’” Dorsey said.
In public comments made to the school board for their meeting; parents, faculty and members of the community made impassioned arguments against the new policy.
“The students of color and the students of [the] LGBTQ [community] are bullied in this school system on a regular basis,” one public commenter said. “We have students that have come in here and talked to you specifically about the fact that they have tried to commit suicide because of the way they are treated in this school system. I do not find [these to be] acceptable policies.”
However, other members of the public came out in support of the new policy, believing Pride flags to have no place in school spaces.
One parent stated how she believed that the presence of Pride flags and discussions of sexuality and gender identity in the classroom could end up harming students rather than helping them.
“It overstimulates a curiosity that [students] are not remotely able to comprehend yet and could further their curiosities, potentially causing harm to themselves or others out of pure confusion,” the parent said.
The commenter asserted such conversations and displays of support should be kept private and away from the classroom.
“Allies can be made and known and shared in a separate setting with an appointed advocate equipped with the correct resources to properly address these issues with our children who are struggling with them,” she said.
The separation from and neutrality on the topic of Pride flags and discussions in schools has been echoed by multiple members of the board who voted in favor of the policy.
Board member Tara Battaglia told the Washington Blade how she believed voting for the policy would achieve fairness among those in the county’s schools.
“Schools should always be a neutral environment and welcoming to all students,” Battaglia said.
Dorsey and other members of the public who chose to speak during the meeting denied the notion that allowing the display of Pride flags in schools was an inherently political or destructive gesture, framing it, rather, as a gesture of humanity.
“We’ve got students who are saying, ‘See me, see me, look at me for who I am, accept me for who I am,’” Dorsey said.
The adoption of the policy has since gained attention from across the state, with multiple statewide candidates for office responding to the decision.
Former Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, who is running for governor, took to Twitter the day after the meeting, sharply criticizing the policy.
“This is shameful, regressive, and exactly the wrong message to be sending to our LGBTQ+ youth, who deserve a learning environment that welcomes them for who they are,” Gansler wrote. “Also, this is begging for a constitutional challenge. I call on the school board to reconsider.”
Just hours later, former Democratic National Committee chair and fellow gubernatorial candidate Tom Perez referred to the decision as “utterly disgraceful.”
“Our classrooms — and every community across Maryland — should be a welcoming, safe place that empowers every person to be who they are,” Perez wrote. “At a time when our LGBTQ+ youth face incredible challenges, we need to do all we can to support them.”
As concerns among national and state advocates rise over the future of LGBTQ students’ access to affirming spaces and conversations in schools, advocates in Carroll County and around the country continue to convey a message of humanity.
“We’ve heard a lot of voices from the students that we really do have to acknowledge,” Dorsey said. “Let’s just see them, let’s hear them and let’s validate them for who they are.”
GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Maryland state Del. Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery County) on Friday held a “Big Gay Canvass Kickoff” event at his congressional campaign’s headquarters.
LGBTQ+ Victory Fund Vice President of Outreach and Engagement Marty Rouse and John Klenert, a member of the DC Vote and Victory Fund Campaign board of directors, are among those who participated alongside members of Equality PAC. Vogel spoke before Rouse, Klenert and others canvassed for votes in the area.
“Joe brings a fresh new perspective to politics,” said Gabri Kurtzer-Ellenbogen, deputy field director for Vogel’s campaign.
Vogel, 27, is among the Democrats running for Congressman David Trone’s seat.
Trone last May announced his bid to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) in the U.S. Senate.
The Democratic primary is on May 14. Vogel would be the first Latino, the first gay man and first Gen Zer elected to Congress from Maryland if he were to win in November.
“We need a new generation of leadership with new perspectives, new ideas, and the courage to actually deliver for our communities if we want things to get better in this country,” Vogel told the Washington Blade last month during an interview in D.C.
Maryland
Montgomery County police chief discusses arrest of trans student charged with planned school shooting
County executive tells news conference student’s trans identity is irrelevant to criminal charge
Montgomery County, Md., Police Chief Marcus Jones joined other county and law enforcement officials at a news conference on Friday, April 19, to provide details of the police investigation and arrest of an 18-year-old high school student charged two days earlier with threats of mass violence based on information that he allegedly planed a mass shooting at the high school and elementary school he attended in Rockville, Md.
In charging documents and in a press release issued on April 18, Montgomery County Police identified the arrested student as “Andrea Ye, of Rockville, whose preferred name is Alex Ye.”
One of the charging documents states that a friend of Ye, who police say came forward as a witness who played a crucial role in alerting authorities to Ye’s threats of a school shooting, noted that Ye told the witness that Ye identified as the transgender student he wrote about as a character in a 129-page manifesto outlining plans for a school shooting. Police have said Ye told them the manifesto was a fictional story he planned to publish.
At the news conference on Friday, Police Chief Jones and other law enforcement officials, including an FBI official and Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, referred to the student as Alex Ye and Mr. Ye. None of the officials raised the issue of whether Ye identified as a transgender man, seven though one of the police documents identifies Ye as a “biological female.”
County Executive Elrich appeared to express the views of the public officials at the news conference when one of the media reporters, during a question-and-answer period, asked Elrich why he and the others who spoke at the news conferment failed to “admit that this individual was transgender.”
“Because it’s not a lead,” Elrich replied, asking if the press and law enforcement authorities should disclose that someone arrested for murder is “a white Christian male who’s heterosexual.” Elrich stated, “No, you don’t – You never publish somebody’s sexual orientation when we talk about this. Why you are focusing on this being a transgender is beyond me. It’s not a news story. It is not a crime to be transgender.”
The reporter attempted to respond but was cut off by the press conference moderator, who called on someone else to ask the next question.
In his remarks at the press conference Chief Jones praised the so far unidentified witness who was the first to alert authorities about Ye’s manifesto appearing to make threats of a mass school shooting.
“Now, this is a situation that highlights the critical importance of vigilance and community involvement in preventing potential tragedies,” Jones said. “I commend the collaborative efforts of the Montgomery County Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Rockville City Police Department, and the Montgomery County Public Schools, as well as Montgomery County Health and Human Services,” he told the gathering.
“Thanks to their swift action and cooperation a potentially catastrophic event was prevented,” Jones said.
Jones pointed out that during the current school year, police have received reports of 140 threats to the public schools in Montgomery County. He said after a thorough investigation, none of them rose to the level where an arrest was made. Instead, police and school officials took steps to arrange for the student making the threats and their parents to take remedial action, including providing mental health services.
“But this case is different,” Jones said. “This case is entirely different that takes it to a different level. It was a concerned witness who brought this matter to light by rereporting the suspect’s manifesto to the authorities. This underscores the value of community engagement and the ‘see something say something’ approach,” he said.
Jones mentioned at the press conference that Ye was being held without bond since the time of his arrest but was scheduled to appear in court for a bond hearing on Friday shortly after the press conference took place to determine whether he should be released while awaiting trial or continue to be held.
In his manifesto obtained by police, Ye writes about committing a school shooting, and strategizes how to carry out the act. Ye also contemplates targeting an elementary school and says that he wants to be famous.
In charging documents reported on by WJLA 7 and WBAL 11, the 129-page document, which Ye has referred to as a book of fiction, included writings that said, in part:
“I want to shoot up a school. I’ve been preparing for months. The gun is an AR-15. This gun is going to change lives tomorrow … As I walk through the hallways, I cherry pick the classrooms that are the easiest targets. I need to figure out how to sneak the gun in. I have contemplated making bombs. The instructions to make them are surprisingly available online. I have also considered shooting up my former elementary school because little kids make easier targets. High school’s the best target; I’m the most familiar with the layout. I pace around my room like an evil mastermind. I’ve put so much effort into this. My ultimate goal would be to set the world record for the most amount of kills in a shooting. If I have time, I’ll try to decapitate my victims with a knife to turn the injuries into deaths.”
Maryland
Rockville teen charged with plotting school shooting after FBI finds ‘manifesto’
Alex Ye charged with threats of mass violence
BY BRETT BARROUQUERE | A Montgomery County high school student is charged with what police describe as plans to commit a school shooting.
Andrea Ye, 18, of Rockville, whose preferred name is Alex Ye, is charged with threats of mass violence. Montgomery County Police and the FBI arrested Ye Wednesday.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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