Teacher loses court case over LGBT+ 'sin' comments
A Christian teacher who told pupils at a south-east London school that being LGBT+ was a "sin" and that transgender people were "just confused" has lost a High Court challenge over a finding of unprofessional conduct.
Glawdys Leger made the comments to her year seven pupils during a presentation in a religious studies lesson at Bishop Justus Church of England School in Bromley, in February 2022.
Ms Leger, 44, argued that a professional conduct panel (PCP) had failed to put her comments in context.
But a judge has dismissed her case, saying that it was a "justifiable and proportionate sanction for her unacceptable professional conduct".
Ms Leger was suspended in March 2022 before being dismissed two months later.
During a class discussion on "allyship", Ms Leger said that being LGBT+ was "not fine" and that pupils should put God before LGBTQ ideology, the PCP previously found.
The PCP hearing was told that Ms Leger's comments were recorded by an 11-year-old pupil, who had been advised by her mother to note down any "transphobic" remarks.
The mother then complained to the school, saying Ms Leger's comments were "very distressing" for her child.
In December 2023, the PCP found the teacher's actions amounted to unprofessional conduct, with the result of the case being published on the Teaching Regulation Agency's website, although she was not banned from teaching.
In her legal challenge at the High Court against the Department for Education (DfE), Ms Leger argued that the school's duty to provide a broad and balanced curriculum did not apply to her as an individual teacher.
In a written judgment, Mrs Justice Lang said: "The PCP and the secretary of state made a lawful decision that publication of the findings was a justifiable and proportionate sanction for her unacceptable professional conduct."
Ms Leger had also argued that the decision by the PCP to publish the finding was unlawful as it infringed on her privacy and would make it "difficult, if not impossible, to obtain new employment".
But Mrs Justice Lang said the PCP had been compelled to publish its finding and "went no further than it considered justified".
She added: "The result was the nuanced finding that while 'Ms Leger's comments lacked respect for the right of others' this did not derive 'from a lack of a tolerance' nor had she any 'intention of causing distress to pupils'.
"That said, her 'actions were at risk of upsetting pupils in the lesson' and her 'choice not to present a balanced view undermined the school community's aspiration to provide a supportive environment for children who may be exploring sexual identity'."
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CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
Pulse massacre survivors revisit the nightclub before it's razed for a permanent memorial
Survivors and family members of the 49 victims killed in the Pulse nightclub massacre nine years ago got their first chance Wednesday to walk through the long-shuttered, LGBTQ+-friendly Florida venue before it is razed and replaced with a permanent memorial to what was once the worst U.S. mass shooting in modern times. In small groups over four days, survivors and family members of those killed can spend half an hour inside the space where Omar Mateen opened fire during a Latin night celebration on June 12, 2016, leaving 49 dead and 53 wounded. Mateen, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, was killed after a three-hour standoff with police. At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The Pulse shooting's death toll was surpassed the following year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas. The city of Orlando purchased the Pulse property in 2023 for $2 million and plans to build a $12 million permanent memorial that will open in 2027. Those efforts follow a multiyear, botched attempt by a private foundation run by the club's former owner. The existing structure will be razed later this year. Christine Leinonen, whose son, Christopher "Drew" Leinonen was killed in the mass shooting, was among the first groups to go inside the club on Wednesday. Leinonen, who has been a fierce critic of the police response, the investigation into the mass shooting and the nightclub's owner, said she wanted to see the space where her son died. "It's not closure. It's pragmatic for me because I needed to see the space. I needed to see how big it was," Leinonen said afterward. "I would have regretted it if I didn't go through it." Visits coincide with the shooting's ninth anniversary The opportunity to go inside the nightclub comes on the ninth anniversary of the mass shooting. Outside, oversize photos of the victims, rainbow-colored flags and flowers have hung on fences in a makeshift memorial, and the site has attracted visitors from around the globe. But very few people other than investigators have been inside the structure. Donna Wyche, City of Orlando Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, answers questions at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on the eve of the mass shooting's 9th anniversary, Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP) Joe Burbank / AP Around 250 survivors and family members of those killed responded to the city's invitation to walk through the nightclub this week. Families of the 49 people who were killed were able to visit the site with up to six people in their group, and survivors could bring one person with them. The club had been cleaned and lighting has been installed ahead of the walk-throughs. The people invited to visit were given the chance to ask FBI agents who investigated the massacre about what happened. They weren't allowed to take photos or video inside. On Wednesday, a security screen shielded the entrance to the club as the visitors got off a small bus and walked into a white tent at the venue's entrance. Some of those who had planned to come backed out at the last minute. Brandon Wolf, who hid in a bathroom as the gunman opened fire, said he wasn't going to visit, primarily because he now lives in Washington. He said he wanted to remember Pulse as it was before. "I will say that the site of the tragedy is where I feel closest to the people who were stolen from me," said Wolf, who is now national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, a LGBTQ+ advocacy group. "For survivors, the last time they were in that space was the worst night possible. It will be really hard to be in that space again." Mental health counselors planned to be on hand to talk to those who walk through the building. Original memorial plans for Pulse fell short Survivors and family members had hoped to have a permanent memorial in place by now. An earlier effort by a private foundation to build one floundered, and the organization disbanded in 2023. Barbara and Rosario Poma and business owner Michael Panaggio previously owned the property, and Barbara Poma was the executive director of the onePulse Foundation — the nonprofit that had been leading efforts to build a memorial and museum. She stepped down as executive director in 2022 and then left the organization in 2023 amid criticism that she wanted to sell instead of donate the property. There were also complaints about the lack of progress despite millions of dollars being raised. The original project, unveiled in 2019 by the onePulse Foundation, called for a museum and permanent memorial costing $45 million. That estimate eventually soared to $100 million. The city of Orlando has since outlined a more modest proposal and scrapped plans for a museum. "The building may come down, and we may finally get a permanent memorial, but that doesn't change the fact that this community has been scarred for life," Wolf said. "There are people inside the community who still need and will continue to need support and resources."
CNN
7 hours ago
- CNN
Families and survivors have waited 9 years for Orlando to build a memorial for Pulse shooting victims. Now the city is moving forward with plans
National security TerrorismFacebookTweetLink Follow For nearly a decade, the community in Orlando has been working to find a way to memorialize the 49 people who were killed when a gunman opened fire on Latin night at a popular gay nightclub, making it the worst mass shooting in modern US history at the time. Now, as the city marks the nine-year anniversary of the tragedy at Pulse on June 12, city leaders and local activists say they have renewed hope that construction of a permanent memorial site will begin next June. City engineers are currently reviewing proposals from design firms with plans to award a contract this summer. The conceptual site design – created by an 18-member advisory board of survivors, loved ones of victims and community leaders – includes a memorial and reflection space, a survivors' tribute wall, a private gathering space for personal reflection, a walkway with columns honoring the 49 victims on rainbow glass panels, a healing garden and a visitor's center. The Pulse Memorial is set to be completed by the end of 2027, according to the city. Admission to the memorial will be free, city officials say. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, who has been mayor since 2003, said he believes it's important to honor the victims and survivors. 'I think from the time it happened we knew that we wanted to memorialize the victims of the tragedy and have a place to reflect on what happened and to honor them,' Dyer told CNN. 'Hopefully that is what we will be able to achieve with the memorial, and I think it's important that it's on the site where it took place.' The building that housed the club will be demolished, Dyer said. Family members of the victims and survivors were able to walk through the building for the first time on Wednesday. 'For whatever closure and peace of mind that may provide somebody, we wanted to make that available,' Dyer said. The city acquired the land where Pulse sits from the club's owners in December 2023 for $2 million, a city spokeswoman said. The club owners had formed a non-profit called the onePulse Foundation following the shooting with the intention of raising funds to build a memorial and museum in honor of the victims, Dyer said. The foundation raised more than $20 million in the seven years it operated, according to CNN affiliate WFTV. Dyer said the money raised was largely spent on salaries of foundation workers. The foundation's plans for both a memorial site and a museum that would cost at least $50 million to build proved to be 'very hard to achieve,' Dyer said. The onePulse Foundation dissolved in December 2023, according to WFTV. 'The magnitude that needed to be raised to create a museum overwhelmed the memorial process,' Dyer said. Nancy Rosado, an advisory committee member and community activist, said the lack of progress on building the museum for nine years became a 'sticking point to healing' for survivors and the family and friends of victims. Rosado, who offered grief counseling to many of the families impacted by the massacre, said people wanted to see their loved ones memorialized and have the trauma they endured from the shooting recognized in a meaningful way. The city, she said, surveyed families and victims on what they wanted the memorial site to include. One shared goal of the advisory committee was to ensure that the memorial honored both the gay and Latino communities who felt at home at the club before the shooting. 'I believe this will move them forward,' Rosado said. 'Let's get this component settled so you have a place to go to express your grief or to express joy at seeing your son or daughter's name or your friend's name on a wall. These elements are so healing and I'm really happy that we are at this particular point.' Brandon Wolf, who survived the Pulse shooting after hiding in a bathroom, said it's past time for the community to have a 'respectful, permanent place to pay their respects.' Wolf lost his two best friends, Christopher Andrew Leinonen and Juan Ramon Guerrero, in the attack. 'I am looking forward to a space that is worthy of the memory of my best friends – one where I can feel close to them and reflect on why we have to continue doing the work to honor them with action,' said Wolf, who is also national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign. But some families and community advocates say they oppose the advisory committee's design plan for a memorial site. Zachary Blair, co-founder of the grassroots group Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice and a former Pulse patron, said he is disappointed that it's been nine years since the shooting and the city still has no permanent memorial for the victims of the tragedy at Pulse. Blair said he created his group and started speaking out in 2019 when he learned the onePulse Foundation wanted to build a multi-million dollar museum. He said many families and survivors were against the museum because they believed it was 'turning a massacre into a tourist attraction.' When onePulse dissolved in 2023, Blair said there was even more frustration that the foundation had raised millions of dollars, yet it still didn't build anything to memorialize those impacted by the attack. 'It's awful and it shows how much of a failure these people are,' Blair said. In a statement published by CNN affiliate WESH in 2023, the onePulse board said it was 'challenged by unexpected and definitive events, among them the inability to secure a full donation of the Pulse nightclub site from the property owners and a global pandemic that brought with it critical limits and many unanticipated consequences, that ultimately impacted our fundraising efforts.' 'These unanticipated challenges have led the Trustees to vote late yesterday to initiate the transfer of our assets and the dissolution of the Foundation,' the statement read. Blair said his group still believes the city's current memorial design is 'too garish, it's too touristy.' 'It's not a somber, reflective, dignified space where families and the public can come to pay their respects,' he said. Christine Leinonen, Christopher Andrew Leinonen's mother, said she believes the existing plan is more of a tourist attraction that the city is using to bring in revenue from visitors spending money in Orlando. Leinonen, also a co-founder of Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice, said she would prefer an outdoor memorial park with trees and a walking path. She said she applied to join the city's advisory committee but was not selected. 'We want a simplified, dignified, free, easy space,' Leinonen. 'A place where people can stop by while they are out walking. Let's not take a mass shooting … and make it into your form of collecting tourist dollars.' Dyer acknowledged that there has been some division among families and survivors on how the Pulse memorial site should look. He called claims that the site will be a tourist attraction 'misinformation.' Rosado said she feels confident the current plans for the memorial will be successful. 'Right now, people have such little faith and are braced for a shoe to drop somewhere along the line,' Rosado said. 'But I have a lot of faith that at this stage of the game with all the fanfare and all the commitment and time invested in this that we are going to see this memorial be a fitting tribute to those we lost that day.'
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Pulse massacre survivors, families visit nightclub site on 9th anniversary, before its demolition
The Brief Families and survivors of the Pulse Nightclub shooting are touring the site for the first time, nine years after the attack. The City of Orlando purchased the property in 2023 and plans to build a $12 million permanent memorial by 2027. Emotional reactions have varried, as visible scars and memories resurfaced during the walkthroughs. ORLANDO, Fla. - Survivors and families of the 49 victims killed in the Pulse Nightclub shooting were invited this week to walk through the nightclub for the first time since the June 12, 2016, massacre, just before the site is demolished. What we know Over four days, visitors are allowed 30-minute visits inside the building, where physical traces of the tragedy — including bullet holes and escape routes — remain. The City of Orlando bought the site in 2023 for $2 million and plans to replace it with a $12 million permanent memorial by 2027. What we don't know Some visitors opted out or left early, highlighting emotional limits, but the full psychological impact of the visits remains to be seen. It's unclear how the new memorial will be received long-term by survivors, families, and the LGBTQ+ community, given past failed efforts and lingering distrust towards city leadership and former club owners. The backstory Pulse was hosting a Latin Night when Omar Mateen opened fire, killing 49 and wounding 53 in what was then the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Survivors and families had long pushed for meaningful access to the site and a permanent tribute, but a controversial foundation failed to deliver on its $100 million memorial plan, prompting the city to step in. The Pulse tragedy reshaped Orlando and became a global symbol of violence against the LGBTQ+ community. RELATED: Pulse Memorial: Orange County commits $5 million toward permanent site Timeline At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The Pulse shooting's death toll was surpassed the following year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas. June 12, 2016: Pulse nightclub shooting leaves 49 dead 2023: City of Orlando purchases site for $2 million after onePulse Foundation disbands June 2025: Survivors and families tour the club just before 9th anniversary 2027: Planned opening of a $12 million permanent memorial What they're saying Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and city officials say these site visits are a vital part of the healing process, though for many, the emotional wounds persist and the loss remains irreparable. "Nothing can bring the 49 back. Nothing can cure the mental anguish so many people have gone through," said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer on Wednesday. "I would hope, a site visit would be helpful." Christine Leinonen, whose son, Christopher "Drew" Leinonen, was killed in the mass shooting, was among the first groups to go inside the club on Wednesday. "It's not closure. It's pragmatic for me because I needed to see the space. I needed to see how big it was," Leinonen said afterward. "I would have regretted it if I didn't go through it." Brandon Wolf, who hid in a bathroom as the gunman opened fire, said he wasn't going to visit, primarily because he now lives out of state. He said he wanted to remember Pulse as it was before. "I will say that the site of the tragedy is where I feel closest to the people who were stolen from me," said Wolf, who is now national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, a LGBTQ+ advocacy group. "For survivors, the last time they were in that space was the worst night possible. It will be really hard to be in that space again." STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 35 ORLANDO: Download the FOX Local app for breaking news alerts, the latest news headlines Download the FOX 35 Storm Team Weather app for weather alerts & radar Sign up for FOX 35's daily newsletter for the latest morning headlines FOX Local:Stream FOX 35 newscasts, FOX 35 News+, Central Florida Eats on your smart TV The Source This story was written based on information shared by the City of Orlando, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Christine Leinonen, and additional reporting by the Associated Press.
