WHAT’S IN THE ‘DON’T SAY GAY BILL’ THAT COULD HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE WHOLE COUNTRY
Twitter Expand this picture Lee, Wilfredo / AP
switch to caption Lee, Wilfredo / AP Lee, Wilfredo / AP A national “Don’t Say Gay” measure has been presented by House Republicans, modeled after the contentious Florida law that forbids teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade classes.
The federal bill’s ramifications may be much wider-ranging, covering not only events and literature at any federally-funded institution but also education in schools, which is doubtful under the present Congress.
What’s in the bill and what are people saying about it are included below.
THE BILL’S LANGUAGE IS COMPLEX AND SIGNIFICANT. Rep. Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, proposed the bill on Tuesday, and 32 other Republicans signed on as cosponsors.
The Democratic Party and their cultural supporters, according to Johnson said in a statement , are on a misguided crusade to expose young children to sexual imagery and radical gender ideology.
The “ Stop the Sexualization of Children Act ” bill was introduced with the stated intention of “Prohibiting the use of Federal monies to plan, administer, facilitate, or fund any sexually-oriented program, event, or material for children under the age of 10.”
The phrasing of the proposed regulation combines discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity with pornographic and stripping-related sexual content.
In addition to forbidding federal facilities from hosting or promoting “sexually-oriented” programs, events, or literature for children under 10, the bill would also permit parents and guardians to bring legal action against public officials, organizations, and private businesses if a child under 10 is “exposed” to such materials.
The bill expresses displeasure that “many newly implemented sexual education curriculums encourage discussion of sexuality, sexual orientation, transgenderism, and gender ideology as early as kindergarten” and that “some school districts have implemented sex education programming for children under 10.” Additionally, it criticizes’sexually-oriented’ activities like drag queen story hours in libraries.
Expand this picture Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker
switch to caption Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker THE BILL COMES AFTER GOP-DRIVEN “PARENTAL RIGHTS” ACTIVITIES IN FLORIDA AND OTHER STATES The proposed federal law is presented in terms of parents’ rights, a right-wing rallying cry that in recent years has included struggles against schools’ COVID-19 vaccination regulations and ardent campaigning against critical race theory in the classroom.
The “Parental Rights in Education” bill, signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in March, forbids public school employees from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity in classrooms from “kindergarten through grade 3” or in a way that is not developmentally or age-appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.
The Florida law has been called “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents, who claim that its goal is to marginalize LGBTQ persons and their families. Several other states swiftly passed identical measures, and Alabama passed its own version of the bill was signed into law.
The proposed legislation lists descriptions and depictions of sexual actions as well as “lewd or lascivious portrayal or description” of human genitalia among the “sexually-oriented content” that it would prohibit.
However, it also forbids a wide variety of LGBTQ-related subjects that are primarily about identity, such as “gender identity, gender dysphoria, transgenderism, and sexual orientation.”
While Democrats are in control of the White House and Senate, the prospects for the bill are zero. Given that this proposal is primarily a Republican initiative and Democrats hold a functional majority in both chambers, the bill would not pass in the current Congress.
The composition of the House and Senate could change based on the outcomes of the elections in November. Even if the bill is popular with certain Republicans, it is unclear how many would actually vote in favor of it.
President Biden would veto the proposed legislation even if it were to pass in a Republican-controlled House and Senate. Therefore, don’t anticipate this law to be passed anytime soon.
LGBTQ GROUPS DENY THE BILL AND ADVISE AGAINST ITS POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES The Human Rights Campaign, a group that fights for the rights of LGBTQ people, condemned the legislation that was being considered.
The right of LGBTQ Americans to live openly and honestly is still being attacked by extreme House Republicans like Mike Johnson. ‘A federal ‘Don’t Say Gay or Trans’ bill… is their latest cruel attempt to stigmatize and marginalize the community, not in an attempt to tackle actual problems but only to fire up their extremist base,’ Human Rights Campaign Government Affairs Director David Stacy stated in a statement .
The comparison to a “Don’t Say Gay” bill, according to activist Erin Reed, who monitors anti-transgender legislation, diminishes the possible impacts of the proposed legislation.
Don’t Say Gay/Trans was only concerned with “classroom training,” which was unacceptable, according to