I stand with jailed Enoch Burke: He was right to refuse a pupil’s preferred pronouns
Premier ChristianitySep 08, 2022
Enoch Burke, a teacher in County Westmeath, Ireland who refused to use a transgender student's chosen pronouns, was jailed on Tues. after ignoring a court order barring him from entering the school's grounds.
The History and German teacher was suspended and placed on administrative leave in June, when he refused to use the student's preferred pronouns of "they/them" - something that the pupil and their parents had agreed with the school.
Burke has the right to his beliefs, and it's dangerously undemocratic and Orwellian to be compelling speech. It's commendable of him to be standing up for what he believes in. By choosing to stay in prison rather than disobey his conscience, Burke is setting himself up as a martyr in this contentious liberal culture war.
Burke isn't being imprisoned for his beliefs, but rather because he publicly harassed a student and a teacher during a school church service. He isn't a martyr - he committed contempt of court and demonstrated prejudice against a member of a minority community.