More than a dozen stat propose so-lled 'Don't Say Gay' bills : NPR

Contents:

• SENATE BILL 150, ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LEGISLATN, PASS KENTUCKY SENATE
• ALARMG “DON’T SAY GAY/TRANS” BILLS LEGISLATIVELY INTRODUCED KENTUCKY AS ATTACK ON QUEER EXISTENCE
• KENTUCKY BILL TO END GENR-AFFIRMG RE FOR TRANS KIDS ADDS 'DON'T SAY GAY'
• ATHERTON HIGH SCHOOL STUNTS PROTT ON THE NEW “KENTUCKY DON’T SAY GAY/TRANS” BILL
• NOT JT FLORIDA. MORE THAN A DOZEN STAT PROPOSE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILLS
• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• WHAT DO ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ ACTUALLY SAY?
• ATHERTON STUNTS WALK OUT OF CLASS TO PROTT 'DON'T SAY GAY/TRANS' BILLS

SENATE BILL 150, ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ LEGISLATN, PASS KENTUCKY SENATE

HB 177 effectively b tradnal “Don’t Say Gay” bills wh privacy laws, forcg teachers to out queer children to their parents (regardls of safety ncerns) and banng any discsn of LGBTQ+ topics – cludg simply that someone is a member of the muny. The State(s) of 'Don't Say Gay' and Other School Censorship Efforts. Ron DeSantis signed the state's "don't say gay" bill to law Monday, but the Sunshe State isn't alone the efforts -- 's actually part of a natnal other stat are nsirg legislatn that would ban or rtrict classroom (or unselg office) discsn of LGBTQ+ issu and inty or books and other tnal materials that have LGBTQ+ ntent.

The bills aren't surfacg only ral stat or the Deep South -- they've also e up such reliably blue stat as Illois, New Jersey, and Rho Island, although they have ltle chance of passg, The Advote looks at the history of "don't say gay" bills analyz the current state of the and other censorship attempts -- and the legislators behd them.

What Is a 'Don't Say Gay' Bill and What's the History?

ALARMG “DON’T SAY GAY/TRANS” BILLS LEGISLATIVELY INTRODUCED KENTUCKY AS ATTACK ON QUEER EXISTENCE

"Don't say gay" bills have gotten much publicy this year, but they're really nothg new.

KENTUCKY BILL TO END GENR-AFFIRMG RE FOR TRANS KIDS ADDS 'DON'T SAY GAY'

Stacey Campfield troduced a bill that would ban any lsons related to homosexualy through eighth gra. Campfield is no longer office, but other Tennsee lawmakers are tryg there was "don't say gay, " there was "no promo homo" -- bills that proliferated the 1980s and '90s as nservative legislators rpond to the AIDS crisis by seekg to ban what they nsired "promotn of homosexualy" schools, pecially sex tn urs.

What's the Difference Between "Don't Say Gay" and "No Promo Homo" Bills?

A major difference between "no promo homo" bills and "don't say gay" bills is that the latter often have a "heavy-hand mandate on parent and fay volvement, " says Melanie Willgham-Jaggers, GLSEN's executive director.

ATHERTON HIGH SCHOOL STUNTS PROTT ON THE NEW “KENTUCKY DON’T SAY GAY/TRANS” BILL

"The mandat are harmful and risk relsly outg LGBTQ+ young people to fai who do not affirm their children's inti, " Willgham-Jaggers when "don't say gay" bills don't pass, the anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric that up the bat over them do harm, pots out Cathryn Oakley, state legislative director and senr unsel at the Human Rights Campaign. She also not that the bills are more accurately scribed as "don't say gay or trans" bills, as they target transgenr people along wh everyone else unr the LGBTQ+ umbrella.

NOT JT FLORIDA. MORE THAN A DOZEN STAT PROPOSE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILLS

Those who support "don't say gay or trans" bills across all stat are virtually all chief sponsor of Florida's bill is Sen.

Louisiana's versn of a "don't say gay or trans" bill, Hoe Bill 837, is pretty drastic. "Chris Kaiser, advocy director for the Amerin Civil Liberti Unn's Louisiana affiliate, noted to the paper that the bill "seems to be part of a trend to file a lot of different typ of legislatn that is jt aimed at villaizg gay and transgenr people and basilly removg them om public life. It's not hard to image homophobic or transphobic parents not wantg their kids exposed to the "liftyl.

"No public school district, public charter school, or public school library shall mata s ventory or e s curriculum books that make as their primary subject the study of lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr issu or recreatnal sexualizatn, " reads. Tennsee was one of the earlit stat to nsir "don't say gay" legislatn, but backers of such measur haven't managed to get them passed.

HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO

Hoe Bill 800 would ban the e of "textbooks and stctnal materials or supplemental stctnal materials that promote, normalize, support, or addrs lbian, gay, bisexual, or transgenr (LGBT) issu or liftyl.

An early versn of the bill sgled out pictns of homosexualy, but Rep. " Notably, was jt three years ago that Arizona repealed s "no promo homo" law regardg sex tn. Conservative legislators some stat aren't proposg explicly "don't say gay" bills but stead want to give parents broad powers to object to books and other tnal materials they don't want their children seeg, potentially rultg censorship of LGBTQ+ ntent or anythg that als wh the history and effects of racism and sexism the U.

WHAT DO ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ ACTUALLY SAY?

An earlier versn listed pictns of homosexualy as "harmful to mors, " but the latt one has more general language. Introduced yterday, Kentucky Hoe Bills 173 and 177 fall unr the umbrella of “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” bills that have been sweepg the natn.

Hoe Bill 177 effectively b tradnal “Don’t Say Gay” bills wh privacy laws, forcg teachers to out queer children to their parents (regardls of safety ncerns) and banng any discsn of LGBTQ+ topics – cludg simply that someone is a member of the muny. “The are ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills on steroids… The are so much more than what we first saw wh the bills down Florida. For the next 30 days of this legislative ssn, there will likely be multiple more bills filed Kentucky that fall unr this umbrella of “Don’t Say Gay/Trans” bills.

A mtee substute versn of the bill that passed the Senate Fai and Children Commtee on Tuday morng adds piec of "parents' rights" bills filed one of the biggt shifts, HB 470 would forbid Kentucky schools om discsg sexual orientatn, genr inty or genr exprsn - a key ponent of "Don't Say Gay" bills poppg up across the untry.

ATHERTON STUNTS WALK OUT OF CLASS TO PROTT 'DON'T SAY GAY/TRANS' BILLS

Johanna Davids and Lu Lehan at Atherton High School was part of a prott agast the new “Kentucky Don’t Say Gay/Trans” bill by walkg out of school. 14, 2023Stt Utterback/Courier JournalStunts at Atherton High School held a prott agast the new “Kentucky Don’t Say Gay/Trans” bill by walkg out of school. 14, 2023Stt Utterback/Courier JournalCarter Henon at Atherton High School was part of a prott agast the new “Kentucky Don’t Say Gay/Trans” bill by walkg out of school.