Massive Win! Louisiana Officials Revive Anti-LGBTQ School Bill

The Louisiana House of Representatives decided on Tuesday to restore a bill that would deny “topics of sexual orientation or gender identity in any classroom discussion or instruction in kindergarten through grade eight.”

The legislation, which critics have named the state’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, had been killed last week in the House education committee bipartisan in an 7-4 vote.

Yet, on Tuesday, Republican Rep. Raymond Crews utilized an interesting procedural tool, “Committee of the Whole,” which helps to allow a full House vote to deny or progress the education committee’s choice. The House at that point, casted a ballot 55-39 to restore the measure.

Democrats objected to Crews’ use of the procedural tool.

“It would be unprecedented to use the Committee of the Whole for this purpose,” said Rep. Sam Jenkins, who is the chairman of the state’s House Democratic Caucus, on the House floor. “If that’s the case, then every bill that fails in a committee could be brought to the floor.”

Crews did not respond to NBC News’ request for input.

Formally named the Parental Rights in Education law, the nation’s first so called “Don’t Say Gay” bill began in Florida recently this year and was signed into law in March. This action bans teaching about ‘gender identity’ or sexual orientation  “from kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.” It will thankfully take effect on July 1.

Proponents of the Florida measure have fought saying that it gives parents more discretion over what their kids learn in school and say LGBTQ issues are not age proper for youthful students. Yet, critics have argued that the law could smother instructors and students from discussing inappropriate topics to young children (or children period) such as their bisexual, lesbian, gayness, transgender, and queer lives or family members.

Louisiana’s measure goes a step further than the Florida law: It likewise forbids public school workers from talking about their “own sexual orientation or gender identity with students in kindergarten through grade twelve.” 

Louisiana lawmakers use a rare legislative procedure to advance a bill that would prohibit “topics of sexual orientation or gender identity in any classroom discussion or instruction in kindergarten through grade eight.” https://t.co/zh8UoOdPQs

— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 12, 2022

Past Florida and Louisiana, 18 different states have presented comparative legislation that would restrict educators to discuss topics such as this or teach LGBTQ issues in school this year, as indicated by the Movement Advancement Project, or MAP, a LGBTQ think tank that has been following the bills.

LGBTQ advocates condemned the Louisiana state bill and Crews’ movement to invoke the Committee of the Whole method.

“Louisiana politicians are not only blatantly ignoring the dangerous repercussions of anti-LGBTQ+ bills like this have, they are willing to override legal proceedings and dismiss their committee’s decisions,” the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, blabbed in a statement.

This is great news considering that teachers and educators should keep sex talk out of school and teach things like I don’t know…Math? Perhaps science, the ABC’s in the correct order, and history – the real kind. They should stay out of our children’s sexual lives and trying to confuse them, they should stick to their job on teaching basic learning skills, and let us parents do our job in raising our children. Now, this is not to smother or say all teachers are bad. There are definitely great teachers that truly care for our children, and to those – I tip my hat, however there is definitely an agenda being pushed now-a-days.