{"id":9310,"date":"2022-11-15T16:07:57","date_gmt":"2022-11-15T16:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=9310"},"modified":"2022-11-15T16:07:57","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T16:07:57","slug":"house-republicans-seek-to-shield-kids-from-talk-about-gender-sexual-orientation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=9310","title":{"rendered":"House Republicans Seek To Shield Kids From Talk About Gender, Sexual Orientation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n“A new proposal from congressional Republicans would define sexually-oriented material as “any topic involving gender identity, gender dysphoria, transgenderism, sexual orientation, or related subjects.”<\/strong> The bill<\/a>, introduced by Rep. Mike Johnson (R\u2013La.) and co-sponsored by 33 Republican members of Congress, is called the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its purpose is to stop schools, libraries, and other institutions from exposing children under 10 years old to those topics, as well as preventing discussions or depictions of other sexually-oriented themes. It would do so by allowing civil lawsuits from parents if federal funds were used to facilitate such discussions. It would also block federal funding for “any program, event, or literature” involving such topics, whether at a school, a museum, a library, or any other institution. And it would also ban all federal funds for institutions with more than one violation in a five-year period.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“the truly radical side here is the one that wants “any topic involving gender identity, gender dysphoria, transgenderism, sexual orientation, or related subjects” to be off limits for kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are certainly inappropriate ways to discuss these issues with young people, but there are also age-appropriate ways to do so. And it’s safe to assume such subjects may come up organically, without being a part of officially sanctioned curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some kids will have gay or transgender parents or relatives. They may even have transgender classmates. And television, movies, and, pop culture are full of depictions of same-sex couples and discussions of gender identity. Kids will have questions about these things, and what are teachers, guidance counselors, and librarians supposed to do when they come up\u2014simply say “we don’t talk about that”?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Johnson’s bill would open up schools, libraries, and other institutions to a bevy of lawsuits, since it creates a private right of action for parents “against a government official, government agency, or private entity” if a child under age 10 was “exposed to sexually-oriented material funded in part or in whole by Federal funds.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, there’s something of a bait and switch going on here. Republicans can claim it’s just about not funding certain activities. Meanwhile, it’s inviting parents to sue if a grade school library that has received any money from the federal government includes any books with gay or trans characters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bottom line is that the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act” is being promoted as a way to ensure federal money isn’t funding nude drag queen shows for kids, or programs centered on<\/em> sexually-oriented content for children. But it’s actually broad enough to ban funds and allow lawsuits for a range of programs\u2014like school libraries or age-appropriate sex education curriculum\u2014that acknowledge sexual orientation or gender identity at all.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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House Republicans Seek To Shield Kids From Talk About Gender, Sexual Orientation<\/a><\/blockquote>