Opinion
By Judge John Meisburg
10/13/25
Federal Judge Approves Removal of Immoral Book from Public Schools
A U.S. District Judge in the Northern District of Florida has approved the removal of an immoral book from the public schools. Federal judge Allen Winsor (a Trump appointee) ruled that the First Amendment did not require the keeping of a book called “And Tango Makes Three” in the public schools of Escambia County, Florida.
The Court ruled that a public school library was not a “public forum” entitled to First Amendment rights, and that public school officials have wide discretion to determine which books are appropriate for their schools.
The suit was brought by Penguin Books and the book at issue involves two male penguins in a same-sex relationship that raise a baby chick. The story clearly implies support for same-sex marriage and the homosexual agenda.
This decision is a major victory for Christians who have been seeking to remove immoral and pornographic books from the public schools of Florida. Let’s pray that the Nassau County school officials will read the Penguin Books decision, and immediately remove all immoral and pornographic books from our schools without the wasted time and money of months of hearings.
Supreme Court hears Case of Christian Counselors and Conversion Therapy
The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the case of Chiles v. Salazar, which presents the issue of whether a Christian counselor has the First Amendment right to tell a client that homosexuality is a sin, and to perform “conversion therapy” to convert the client to being a heterosexual. A Colorado law bans “conversion. Therapy” and 20 liberal/Democrat states have similar laws. At the oral argument, the Supreme Court justices were very skeptical of the challenged law, and appeared to strongly support the freedom of speech and religion of the Christian counselor. Even the liberal Justice Kagan spoke in favor of freedom of speech in the case. A unanimous Supreme Court decision upholding the free speech of the Christian counselor is expected, and we should pray accordingly.
Ripple Effect Video Case Still In Litigation in Nassau County
Nassau County Circuit Judge Aho ruled twice that the Nassau County School Board and Starting Point must allow the Plaintiffs in this case access to view the Ripple Effect videos that were shown to county public school students over the past eight years. As a result of the suit, the videos are no longer being shown in Nassau County, a major win. But no access to the videos has ever been given. Ripple Effects (not a party to the suit) has now informed Starting Point and the NC School Board that they will not renew the video contract that was terminated during the litigation. The case is now back before the judge to determine if the Defendants have violated the law by not preserving public records that were subject of the lawsuit. A criminal referral has also been filed in this matter because destruction of public records in a suit is a crime/misdemeanor. Let’s pray that justice will be done in this suit. Ripple Effect videos are still being shown throughout Florida and in 40 states, so this is a national issue. The table of contents of the Ripple Effect videos reveals highly questionable sexual content, and very secular and liberal mental health treatment.
Judge John Marshall Meisburg, Jr. is a retired judge and practicing attorney in Nassau County
The views expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal Florid
