Missouri Republican pushing bill banning most LGBTQ education subjects for all grades in schools, including in history

Under a Missouri bill, learning about these LGBTQ historical figures could be banned in schools.

When it comes to undermining LGBTQ people, Republicans have a talent for making their positions sound reasonable at first. But they always go too far and the masks drop. We are then left with what was there all along - hysterically raging bigotry.

From NBC News:

 Missouri lawmakers argued Wednesday over a bill that would ban most LGBTQ education subjects for all grades in the state’s public schools. The proposal is modeled after a Florida education law passed last year, touted by supporters as protecting “parent’s rights” and dubbed by opponents as a “ Don’t Say Gay ” law. 

The Missouri bill debated in a state House committee hearing would ban K-12 public school staff from teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation. The Florida law only prohibits teaching those subjects from kindergarten through third grade, although any lessons on those topics for students of any grade are also banned if they are not age-appropriate. 

 “Exposure to such topics is inappropriate for children, creating confusion which may then cause doubt in their identities,” said Rep. Ann Kelley, a former teacher and the Republican sponsor of the Missouri bill. “It is not the place of the school to indoctrinate our children by exposing them to gender and sexual identity curriculums and courses.” 

This would possibly include any talk about LGBTQ American history. No Stonewall, no AIDS crisis, and especially no SCOTUS ruling which legalized gay marriage:

In response to a question from a committee member, Kelley said she assumes that under her bill, educators would be banned from explaining the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage. 

 “It seems like the things that you want to prohibit are targeted to one particular group that you find disfavorable,” Republican Rep. Phil Christofanelli told Kelley. 

Democratic Rep. Ian Mackey, a former teacher who is gay, asked Kelley if him “being gay in the classroom” and not hiding that from students would be limited under her bill.

“Did you ever inform your students on your beliefs?” Kelley asked Mackey. “They did know I was gay,” Mackey said. “They would see my wedding ring and they would ask about it, and I would say I have a husband.”

 A committee vote on the bill was not scheduled as of Wednesday afternoon.

These actions against LGBTQ Americans perpetrated by Republican legislators were never about protecting children. It was and continues to be all about rendering us invisible as well as undermining our health and well-being

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Georgia version of 'Don't Say Gay' bill dies in committee. Done for 2023 legislative session

Will wonders ever cease?

From The Georgia Recorder:

A watered-down version of a bill opponents called Georgia’s version of “Don’t Say Gay” legislation appears dead in the water after failing in a crucial Senate committee Wednesday. The first version of the bill would have restricted schools, camp counselors and other authority figures from answering children’s questions about gender identity or sexual orientation. 

The latest version would have required all local boards of education to develop a policy for dealing with parental involvement and child privacy related to issues of gender identity. It also would have required all private schools or camps that planned to instruct children on issues of gender identity to get parental signatures first, with exemptions for religious schools or camps. A violation could have led to withholding of funds for a public school or loss of accreditation for a private school.

 . .  .Even the Georgia Baptist Convention opposed the bill. Lobbyist Mike Griffin said he appreciates the goal of encouraging parental involvement. “However, we have heard from many folks including our legal partners and activists from around the state on this issue with this bill, and we believe that this bill has dramatic unintended consequences for parental rights and for children in public schools as well,” he said. “Those concerns have not all been addressed, and so as it stands, we’re concerned with this bill, although we certainly share the motivation of the sponsors.” 

 Members of the Republican-controlled committee appeared to feel the same way. A motion to table the bill passed nearly unanimously, with Majority Leader Steve Gooch of Dahlonega the only one opposed.

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Daily Wire host claims there can't be a genocide against trans people because they aren't 'a legitimate category of being'

Michael Knowles

Recently, Daily Wire host (and failed actor) Michael Knowles said transgenderism should be "banned." His comments caught a lot of deserved criticisms. Many pointed out that dehumanizing people by labeling them as abstract concepts makes it disturbingly easy to do them harm.

In other words, folks pointed out that Knowles was implying genocide. 

Knowles certainly didn't take the criticism well. In another video, he tried to "explain" what he meant but proceeded to dig deeper into the hole he made for himself. So deep in fact that he figuratively hit a sewer line which spewed its contents all over him.

To summarize his long-winded tangent -  he said you can't commit genocide against trans people because "they aren't a legitimate category of being."

In another chilling rant about the 1.6 million trans Americans, Daily Wire host Michael Knowles says that "there can't be a genocide" of trans people because "It's not a legitimate category of being... They're laboring under a delusion. And so we need to correct that delusion." pic.twitter.com/9BmrmZjWGR

— Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) February 28, 2023

Another person watching this clip pointed out the chilling truth behind it and Knowles's initial statement. Knowles is in fact rationalizing harming trans people and in the backdrop of many state lawmakers trying to pass anti-trans legislation across the country, it would be a mistake to take what he is saying lightly.

He reminds me of that eerie scene in the movie 'Silence of the Lambs' in which the serial killer deliberately doesn't talk directly to his kidnapped victim and refers to her as "it." In doing so, he doesn't have to acknowledge that she is a human being who he intends to murder.

I'm certainly not accusing Knowles of being a body-skinning serial killer. To me, he's much worse. He's a coward egging on others to do the dirty work while making excuses for them.

Related post - "We Must Ban Transgenderism Entirely" - Republican Operatives Increasingly Say The Quiet Part Out Loud

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Tenn Gov Bill Lee's high school drag picture resurfaces as he pledges to sign anti-drag bill

Tenn Gov Bill Lee wants to sign bill into law which automatically make drag illegal to be performed in front of minors. But a high school picture of him in drag contradicts his anti-drag narrative.

The Tennessee state legislature just passed a bill which would categorize drag as sexually explicit and thus make it illegal to be performed on public property and in front of minors. Supporters of the bill claim that it is to keep children from being "sexualized." Opponents point out that the bill automatically categorizes drag performances and drag queens as sexually explicit even if they are g-rated, such as the Drag Queen Story Hour event.

 Tennessee Gov Bill Lee said that he will sign the bill into law. But there is an irony to the situation.

He's appeared in drag before. And in high school.

From Independent UK via AOL:

An image appearing to show Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in drag in 1977 has surfaced as the state looks set to impose a new anti-drag law. “As Tennessee moves forward to ban drag, enjoy a high school yearbook picture of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in drag (Franklin High yearbook 1977, page 165),” a Reddit user wrote in a post on the subreddit Political Humor, sharing a picture of what seems to be Mr Lee in a photo above the caption “Hard Luck Woman”. 

 The image was widely shared on social media with users arguing that Republicans are hypocrites on the issue, mentioning that more recent images also depict New York Republican Representative George Santos in drag as the party attempts to utilise the issue in the so-called culture war. 

 Democrat Christopher Hale wrote on Twitter: “Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is set to sign a bill that bans and criminalizes drag across the Volunteer State. Under this law, Governor Lee himself would face prosecution and jail time for his decision to dress up as a ‘hard luck woman’ in high school. Nice legs though!” 

 Gov Lee was confronted  about the photo by a reporter from an online publication The Tennessee Holler   Instead of addressing the hypocrisy of the entire legislative exercise, he clung to the tired  right-wing canard of  "protecting the children,"

👀 WATCH: “Do you remember dressing in drag in 1977? Is it only illegal when gay people do it?” @GovBillLee didn’t appreciate that we printed out the FRANKLIN HIGH YEARBOOK PHOTO — but did not deny it’s him. Meanwhile he’s about to make drag a felony by signing an absurd law.🤔 pic.twitter.com/C7YQcQyis3

— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) February 27, 2023

Nevertheless, as The Daily Dot points out, the hypocrisy of Lee wanting to sign a bill categorizing drag as sexually explicit even though the past picture of him in drag clearly refutes that notion was duly noted after the picture's release.

photo taken from The Daily Dot.