Murphy On Middletown Transgender War: Let's Do Things The American Way

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy appeared on CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday, where he was asked about the lawsuits his Attorney General filed against four NJ school districts over their transgender student policies.

The school districts Gov. Murphy sued are Middletown, Marlboro Township, Manalapan-Englishtown Regional and Hanover Township.

The CBS News host started off the interview by asking Murphy if he thought former Gov. Chris Christie is wrong when he said "parents are the ones who know best."

"We took these actions because it's the right thing to do to protect these precious young people," Murphy responded. "This is a complete culture war, and by the way Chris Christie was really bad for the LGBTQIA+ community and underfunded public education by nine billion. Parents are always involved. Certainly in our administration, they're always at the table and they always will be."

"But let's be smart about this. Let's respect the rights of these precious kids," continued the governor, one of the nation's leading Democrats and a Biden surrogate. "Let's do things the right way, the American way. I think if we do that in the spirit of respecting everyone's rights, protecting the LGBTQIA+ community, we'll land in a good place."

Marlboro school district lawyer Mark Zitomer has argued that blocking a parent's right to know the sexuality or sexual preference of their minor child is a violation of their constitutional rights. That lawyer cited the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gives Americans a right to privacy in their private lives.

"Obviously, parents are the existential reality in the upbringing of any child; I don't deny that for second," responded Murphy. "But let's not violate the constitutional and civil rights of precious young folks, in many cases who are coming to grips with life aṣ they grow up and grow older ... Let's be respectful of that. Let's be all in this together, as opposed to this us-versus-them, this demonizing . And when that happens, it's the LGBTQ community — particularly the trans community — who get behind the eight ball."

"It is our position that keeping parents in the dark about important issues involving their children is counterintuitive and contrary to well established Supreme Court case law that says parents have a constitutional right to direct and control the upbringing of their children,” Marlboro school district lawyer Zitomer previously told CNN.

Murphy gave the interview from his private home on the Navesink River in Middletown.

The NJ Department of Education has a policy that does not require teachers inform parents if a child is transgender in school, or seeks to go by a different name, pronoun or use a different bathroom or locker room.

However, all four of those school districts passed versions of policies that require teachers inform parents if their child uses a new name, gender or pronoun in school. Colts Neck Twp. Board of Education was considering passing a similar policy to Middletown's, but decided to table it after they saw neighboring school districts sued by the state.

NJ Attorney General Matt Platkin says the school districts are violating New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination, a broadly interpreted law that protects various groups determined by race, ethnicity, gender orientation and sexual preference.

Lawyers for the Middletown school district were successful in getting the state's lawsuit moved out of the Essex County court system and to Monmouth County Superior Court, viewed as friendlier turf for Republican-majority Middletown.

A hearing on the state's lawsuit against Middletown is scheduled for Aug. 15. On that date, lawyers from both the Middletown school district and the Attorney General will meet before a Monmouth County Superior Court judge to argue their positions.

Watch the Sunday morning interview below, or here: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/...

Middletown BOE Approves Controversial Transgender Student Policy (June 21)

Less than 24 hours after the Middletown school board passed that policy, it was sued by the state of New Jersey: NJ Sues Middletown, 2 Other Districts For Transgender Student Policies (June 22)

NJ vs. Middletown Transgender Legal Battle Moved To Monmouth County (June 28)

Colts Neck School Board Tables Vote On Trans Student Policy (June 28)

Op-ed from Middletown school board president Frank Capone: Murphy Has Zero Care For Parental Rights (July 18)