Louisiana lawmakers kill ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill restricting gender identity discussion – Daily Advertiser
Louisiana’s version of legislation to bar classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity, described as a “Don’t Say Gay” bill by opponents, was killed in the House Education Committee Tuesday.
A similar bill in Florida has sparked a high-stakes, viral feud between Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a supporter of the legislation in his state, and the Walt Disney Co., whose executives publicly condemned the bill there.
Louisiana House Bill 837 by Republican Haughton Rep. Dodie Horton would prohibit discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through eighth grades or teachers discussing their own sexual identity through the 12th grade.
Members of the House Education Committee voted 7-4 to keep the bill from advancing.
“Unfortunately, some teachers are interjecting their own lifestyle choices into the classroom,” Horton said. “(The bill) defines the line that has recently been blurred by some teachers to share their personal sexual identity and gender preferences with our children.”
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The Rev. Mike Holloway of Ouachita Baptist Church in West Monroe testified in favor of the bill, saying it’s the parents’ responsibility to decide whether to have discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity with their children.
“We don’t put the Ten Commandments on the wall because it’s considered offensive; well, this is offensive to me,” Holloway said. “It creates confusion in children’s minds and hardships in the home.
“People have the right to choose what they want to be but they don’t have the right to promote it to our children in schools.”
But opponents said such legislation would harm LGBTQ children by stigmatizing them, insisting sexual and gender identity isn’t a choice.
“If they learn that this is taboo, they will learn to hate themselves,” said Mary Lee Montgomery, a sophomore at Tulane University.
Another opponent who identified as gay said she was a victim of constant bullying in school with children hurling slurs at her, eventually prompting her to “take a handful of pills” after she became “reckless with my life.”
Queer high-school students were far more likely to have attempted or seriously considered suicide during the pandemic than their peers, according to recently released data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nearly half of respondents who identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual said they had seriously thought about suicide, while one in four lesbian, gay or bisexual youth reported attempting it, the agency found. The survey did not collect responses for transgender youth, instead allowing youth to identify as “other or questioning.”
Opponents also questioned whether the bill would prevent LGBTQ teachers from displaying photos of their families on their desks and make them fearful of answering questions about their families.
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Though Horton acknowledged complaints about her concerns aren’t rampant in Louisiana schools, she pointed to a March incident involving a Shreveport teacher who identifies as nonbinary that sparked a debate among parents attending a Caddo Parish School Board meeting.
The teacher received pushback and support after posting a video on TikTok about her inability to be open about her life at work.
USA Today contributed to this report.
Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1