It’s been almost two years since we filed our federal lawsuit on behalf of Oakland, California kindergarten teacher Mirella Ramirez on December 19, 2024. You may recall that Mirella – a “Teacher of the Year” award nominee – was fired from the job she so dearly loved simply because she refused to cast aside her religious beliefs in favor of the transgender indoctrination initiative being forced upon her by school officials.
Mirella, a devout Catholic, refused to acknowledge the gender transition of her five-year-old female student, and also refused to publicly refer to her using a male name and male pronouns in her classroom. That’s because doing so would require Mirella to betray her sincerely-held religious conviction that God created only two genders – male and female – and that one could never become the other. Mirella also knew that by openly referring to a girl as a boy in her classroom – and requiring her other students to do so as well – she would, in fact, be teaching a lesson to her students. And that lesson would be that gender transitions should be accepted and respected as truth, a belief that stood in direct contradiction to her own beliefs, but one being forced upon her by the school.
But despite her pleadings, the school district refused to honor Mirella’s beliefs, and ultimately terminated her from her position. So the school – a government entity – punished Mirella for her religious beliefs and for her refusal to engage in compelled speech, in violation of the First Amendment’s guarantees of the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech. That’s when Mirella reached out to We The Patriots USA for help, and we fought back.
Sadly – but not at all surprisingly – the district court dismissed Mirella’s lawsuit in May of last year. On February 9, 2026, we filed our appeal brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. As of this writing – October 7, 2026 – the Ninth Circuit still has not scheduled a hearing in Mirella’s case, let alone issued a decision.
And so Mirella still waits for justice. There’s an old saying in the law that goes, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” Still, we remain hopeful that Mirella will get her day in court sooner rather than later. And we will of course keep you updated as soon as there is news to report. In the meantime, please consider making a gift in support of Mirella’s legal battle. At present, we have raised only $5,984 toward the $50,000 fundraiser goal. Gifts of any amount are greatly appreciated!
