Members and supporters of the LGBTQ community attend the “Say Gay Anyway” rally in Miami Beach, Florida on March 13, 2022. – Florida’s state senate on March 8 passed a controversial bill banning lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary schools, a step that critics complain will hurt the LGBTQ community. Opposition Democrats and LGBTQ rights activists have lobbied against what they call the “Don’t Say Gay” law, which will affect kids in kindergarten through third grade, when they are eight or nine years old. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)CHANDAN KHANNA
Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill seems to have finally brought real attention to the years-long legislative crisis unfolding against LGBTQ+ (and especially trans) people. Signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis late last month, the bill bans discussion of gender and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade classes, and could potentially bar such discussions at all age levels depending on what is determined to be “age appropriate.” Among its many egregious measures, it empowers parents to sue school districts for perceived violations, and also requires schools to notify parents of any changes related to a student’s “mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.”
Although the bill’s catchy “Don’t Say Gay” moniker has drawn international attention, this risks misleading people into believing that the law is uniquely evil. Unfortunately, it’s one of hundreds of bills filed over the past few years that seek to essentially eradicate queer people from public life. Whether framed as upholding “parental rights” or “protecting our children,” conservatives’ focus on public schools as a site of amoral contagion has been renewed with a fury perhaps not seen since the days of Anita Bryant. As of April 13, the ACLU counts 42 bills that have been filed this year alone pertaining to school and curriculum restrictions. Below, read about three other bills that also target schools as a place to roll back LGBTQ+ rights. Unlike Florida’s, these bills are still in progress — meaning there’s still time to campaign against them.
HB 1431, which would establish a “parental bill of rights” in education, actually predates Florida’s law by about a month. Introduced on December 1, 2021, the bill establishes parents’ right to “direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of his or her minor child.” It also mandates public schools to disclose “the nature and purpose of clubs and activities” to parents, and would give them the right to “object to instructional materials,” as well as the right to exempt their children from “a particular health or sex education instruction.” Violators would be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a fine of up to $1,200. Additionally, if a parent alleges a “violation” of one of these rights, they can bring a suit against the state or “any of its political subdivisions.”
Although the bill doesn’t specifically mention LGBTQ+ people, extracurriculars such as Gay/Queer-Straight Alliances have raised particular concern among the Fox News crowd, who claims that such clubs are evidence that teachers are “grooming” children into a sinister agenda. Similarly, conservatives have alleged that lessons concerning LGBTQ+ people and history are tantamount to “grooming,” which is likely why the right to object to “instructional materials” and certain sex education lessons are included in this bill.
HB 1431 was passed by the New Hampshire House of Representatives on March 15. A Senate vote is expected sometime over the next few weeks; if it passes and is signed into law, it will take effect on January 1, 2023.
HB 2161 is worded similarly to the New Hampshire bill. Unfortunately, it’s also much more comprehensive than the New Hampshire bill. In addition to establishing a “parents’ bill of rights,” Arizona’s version specifies that any attempt by any employee of the state (except for law enforcement) “to encourage or coerce a minor child to withhold information from the child’s parent” is grounds for discipline.
It also specifies that parents are allowed to object to instructional materials if it “questions [their] beliefs or practices in sex, morality or religion.” Parents must also be notified in advance if a teacher plans to incorporate “sexuality” into instructional materials other than sex education, and will be given the option to opt their children out. The bill would also prohibit school districts from offering sex education to students unless their parents sign a permission slip allowing them to participate. But even if a parent allows their child to receive sex education, this bill specifically would give them the “right” to ban their child from learning about AIDS.
Last but certainly not least, the bill would give parents the right to access all written and electronic records pertaining to their child, including participation in extracurricular activities and clubs, counseling records, reports of behavioral patterns, and email and other online accounts.
HB 2161 passed the Arizona House on February 24, and awaits Senate approval; considering that both the Senate minority and majority caucuses voted in favor of the bill on March 22 though, it’s likely that it will pass there as well.
This bill would also establish a “Parent Bill of Rights.” Predictably, SB 2360 shares quite a few characteristics with the New Hampshire and Arizona bills. But Tennessee’s version would also give parents the right to review curriculum, teacher manuals, and textbooks without having to sign a non-disclosure agreement, as well as the right to review the materials available in a school library, and specifically, the materials that their child has borrowed from the library. The bill would also mandate schools to provide parents with a list of all school organizations available to students, and would require students to get written parental consent before participating in any extracurricular clubs.
While not all bills pertaining to public education refer to themselves as a “parental bill of rights,” there are plenty of bills out there that similarly seek to censor instruction and provide parents with a frankly terrifying amount of oversight. NPR recently reported on a few of them, including an Alabama bill that would prohibit discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in K-5th grade classrooms, as well as similarly situated bills in Louisiana and South Carolina.
US House hopeful Neil Kumar of Arkansas leaned into the nation’s culture wars hard on Thursday, seeding a fundraising appeal with homophobic attacks and apocalyptic imagery. The “LBGT Groomers Want Your Kids” email blast is straight from the MAGA culture wars playbook, portraying public schools as “psychological torture camps,” pedophilia as the greatest threat humanity has ever faced, and existing politicians as part of a systemic problem.
“Education has been replaced by the promotion of the depraved LGBT agenda, a Satanic attack on God and Nature,” Kumar wrote, adding that “sodomite predators are grooming, brainwashing, and mutilating our vulnerable children.” As for the term LGBT, which refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons, Kumar wrote: “I call it LGBTP — the P is for pedophilia.”
The Republican Party of Arkansas’ executive committee announced Tuesday it won’t support Neil Kumar, a Republican, in his bid for the 3rd District congressional seat, adding it won’t endorse or defend “racist, bigoted, sexist or threatening language by any candidate.”
Kumar, 26, of Bentonville, announced in July his plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Womack in the Republican primary for Congress. The primary election is May 24.
“Unlike those corporate-funded clowns, I’m running for Congress to fight for the people of Arkansas — not Walmart, not China, and not the D.C. special interests who are giving away the birthrights of heritage Americans,” he said.
In the video below, Kumar is interviewed on the podcast of the white supremacist group, American Renaissance.
In his Facebook profile photo, Kumar wears a Confederate tie and suspenders.
Once you start a purge of books it never ends. They’ll just keep finding more and more books to get rid of because the extremists will demand it. But, they’re getting away with it because they’re screaming the loudest, and sometimes it’s the only voice that principals and schools boards hear. Just the climate of fear alone will cause teachers, principals, and school boards to act.
For anyone who thinks this is not a religious war against gay people, think again. There shall be no mention or visual of any gayness. Yet through out the book there are men and women touching and draping arms over each other.
Dozens of books were recently taken off Walton County schools library shelves, leading to concern on social media and during the school board meeting Tuesday. District officials confirmed 58 were removed from libraries throughout all schools.
“I did it for just a welfare of all involved, including our constituents, our teachers, and our students. I’ll continue to do those things and perhaps add some,” Walton County School Superintendent A. Russell Hughes [photo] said.
Since its publication in 2001, “Everywhere Babies” — a whimsical, lyrical ode to infancy, illustrated by Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Marla Frazee — has become a staple of family bookshelves, a common recommendation in new parent groups, and a celebrated title on Best Books lists.
But for the first time in its history, “Everywhere Babies” was featured this week on an entirely different kind of list: The book was among dozens of works recently banned from public school libraries in Walton County, Fla.
A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Education referred questions to Walton County, noting that “individual school districts are responsible for making these decisions,” and did not respond to follow-up questions.
The author of “Everywhere Babies” tells the Washington Post that she believes her book was banned due to a single drawing of a man with his arm on another man’s shoulder. There are no explicitly LGBTQ persons depicted in the book.
“Everywhere Babies” — a whimsical, lyrical ode to infancy — has become a staple of family bookshelves since its publication in 2001.
The book is among dozens of works recently banned from public school libraries in Walton County, Fla. https://t.co/HXGBIVqD57
They’re taking the Russian approach, trying to eliminate anything at all that suggests that LGBT people exist and certainly anything that says we aren’t explicitly bad. The next step after that is criminalization.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida’s state legislature are pressing ahead with their plan to punish Disney after the company called for a repeal of Florida’s anti-gay law.
Remember these areas are mostly Democratic strong holds which means it is icing on the cake for DeathSantis if it costs them more than they can afford in extra taxes. He gets to hurt a large company that disagrees with him even as it brings much needed revenue into the state and hurt the majority democrats in the area as well. Win Win for the fascist governor.
The Reedy Creek Improvement Act essentially allows Walt Disney World to reside in Florida unregulated, acting as its own “government” in a way. The act involved creating a special taxing district that acts with the same authority as a county government.
This situation, while complex, seemed fairly cut-and-dry until reporters started to do the numbers and figure out what the termination of the Reedy Creek Improvement Act would actually mean for local taxpayers.
Mary Ellen Klas, the Miami Herald Capitol Bureau Chief tweeted some more information regarding the situation between Disney and Gov. DeSantis. As you can see, the termination of this act could transfer a whopping $2 billion worth of debt over to taxpayers, resulting in thousands of dollars in tax bills.
Sen. @JeffreyBrandes asks: "My concern is this bill essentially wipes away Disneys' $2 billion of debt…if the legislative intent here is ultimately to attack them, then why would we want to cancel $2 billion of debt?"
Sen. @jenn_bradley says that the debt will be transferred to the "general purpose government" which is likely to be the county. Asked if the 1.7 millon residents of Orange and Osceola should be asked if they want to assume the debt, she avoided an answer.
.@FarmerForFLSen pressed her: Where in this bill (which applies to Disney and 5 other districts) does it say that these six districts don't serve a public purpose? @jenn_bradley concedes there is nothing that says they don't serve a public purpose.
JUST IN: Ron DeSantis’ plan to punish Disney for supporting LGBTQ rights by repealing their special district governing authority would raise taxes on Florida families in the Orlando area by $2,200 each, per @miamiherald.
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) April 20, 2022
