Joe.My.God. LGBT News
The Hill reports:
More than 30 House Republicans have signed on to a bill to prohibit federal dollars from being used to make “sexually-oriented” materials available to children under the age of 10.
The measure introduced Tuesday by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) would prohibit the use of federal funds to develop and host programs or events for children younger than 10 that contain “sexually-oriented material,” such as drag queen story hours that have recently drawn the ire of conservative politicians and right-wing groups.
Johnson’s bill, titled the “Stop the Sexualization of Children Act,” claims that state and federal agencies including the Department of Defense have in the past used federal funds to promote and host “sexually-oriented events” like drag queen story hours or burlesque shows for children and families.
Read the full article.
In 2015 as a Louisiana state rep, Johnson introduced an ultimately failed anti-marriage equality bill patterned after Indiana’s infamous and similarly failed bill. In 2018, Johnson joined with anti-LGBTQ evangelical Kirk Cameron in an attempt to allow Christian prayer in Louisiana’s public schools. Johnson is a freshman in the US House.
Universities, public schools, hospitals, medical clinics, etc. could all be defunded if they host any event discussing LGBTQ people and children could be present. The way they define “sexually oriented material” simply includes anything about LGBTQ people.
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) October 18, 2022
It includes a private right of action against any government official AND private entity for a violation. This is SB8 style bounty lawsuits against anyone accepting federal funds. This will be a ban on all discussion of LGBTQ people in any entity that received federal funds. pic.twitter.com/ABndE60wxV
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) October 18, 2022
This is the American version of Russia’s gay propaganda law passed in 2013. This is their end game. To censor and ban LGBTQ from all public life and force them back into the closet.
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) October 18, 2022
The pretext in this bill is clear. They will troll the media about the bill being about “stripping” or drag queen story hour. In reality, the way the law is defined, it could apply to a school that has a screening of Buzz Lightyear.
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) October 18, 2022
I can’t overstate how radical the private right of action portion is. The bill is so broadly defined that a pediatric hospital could be sued for having a pride flag or a medical pamphlet about gender dysphoria. It deputizes anti-LGBTQ bigots to engage in bounty lawsuits.
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) October 18, 2022
As we’ve seen with SB8, the lawsuits are rarely actually filed. Simply the threat of litigation is enough to create a chilling effect. Any federally funded entity will remove all references to LGBTQ people as a precaution, just as schools in Florida have done.
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) October 18, 2022