Mark Greene warns conservatives that even though the “Don’t Say Gay” bill has advanced in Missouri, anti-LGBT rhetoric no longer serves any party well.
The Huffington Post is reporting “A bill in Missouri meant to eliminate any mention of sexual orientation in the state’s public schools advanced to committee on Thursday after a first reading. The brief wording of HB 2051 gets right to the point:
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no instruction, material, or extracurricular activity sponsored by a public school that discusses sexual orientation other than in scientific instruction concerning human reproduction shall be provided in any public school.
The Vital Voice notes that apart from being a direct move to squelch discussion of gay issues and sexuality, the bill would “keep Gay-Straight Alliances from meeting on school grounds as approved extracurricular entities.”
Anti-gay grandstanding continues to be the go-to issue for some conservative politicians playing to their base. What is evident though is that anti-gay agendas have faltered significantly over the last decade as a re-election strategy for broader segments of the GOP. The simple fact is, too many people know and love someone who is gay. Anti-gay wedge issues have forced voters to consider the human cost of such agendas. And they are supporting gay rights as a result. The shift toward supporting same-sex marriage is dramatically greater among millennials.
Sadly, Missouri State politicians like GOP state Rep. Steve Cookson continue to attack gays for their own political advancement. This time seeking to deny they exist in exchange for a few extra votes. It would seem Cookson is unconcerned that gay school kids are being bullied to the point of suicide all across America. At a time when schools need to step up programs addressing gay issues, Cookson wants to abolish use of the word gay itself.
Fortunately for us, the good people of Missouri are unlikely to go along with Cookson’s self-centered agenda.
Image of illuminated sign – WHITE version – gay men couple courtesy of Shutter stock
Missouri’ll just have to do what Tennessee did, and Just Say Takei:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRkIWB3HIEs
I really do not understand the head-in-the-sand mentality that if we don’t talk about it it’ll go away. Either these people are total ass-hats, or they still believe that homosexuality is some sort of choice. Otherwise I don’t see how they could think taking away Gay/Straight Alliances would be a good thing.