Alabama Advances Extreme Version Of “Don’t Say Gay”

Lawmakers in the Alabama House of Representatives have advanced a bill that would expand the state’s Don’t Say Gay law and ban Pride flags from classrooms. Currently, Alabama state law bans instruction and teacher-led discussions on gender identity or sexual orientation in a manner that is “not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate” from kindergarten through the fifth grade. The new legislation would extend the prohibition to all school grades (K-12), and drop the “developmentally appropriate” language, making the ban absolute. An amendment to the bill also bans Pride flags:  “No teacher, or other public K-12 employee, may display a flag or other insignia relating to or representing sexual orientation or gender identity in a classroom or on the property of a public K-12 school.” The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Mack Butler (R), says that the bill would “send the message that it’s inappropriate for the instructors, the teachers, to teach sexual orientation and gender identity.” https://twitter.com/lgbtqnation/status/1770823936399311234   So, if I’m reading this correctly, any classes on sex education (you know, where you learn how not to impregnate a girl by accident) won’t include any mention of the fact that there are, indeed, gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender people in the world? State Rep. Anthony Daniels (D), the House minority leader, likened the bill to “bullying,” telling the Associated Press, “We’re bullying a certain class or group of people because they don’t have the representation to fight back.” https://twitter.com/PinkNews/status/1770679084659380225