A conservative radio host is accusing Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton of attempting to indoctrinate American schoolchildren into supporting sexual deviancy through her plan to stop bullying in schools.
Linda Harvey, writing in a column for the anti-gay activist Matt Barber’s website BarbWire, primarily takes issue with Clinton’s inclusion of protections for LGBT students in her anti-bullying plan. She accuses Clinton of attempting to “firmly plant homosexuality and gender confusion as fully accepted behaviors even among grade school children,” adding that such promoting such ideas amounts to “institutional child abuse.”
Clinton’s “Better than Bullying” program, which would cost $500 million, calls upon schools to develop comprehensive anti-bullying policies, including those that address cyberbullying, to expand behavioral health prevention and intervention programming, and to provide support for educators to foster a more inclusive school climate. States would receive grants and matching funds if they complied with those requirements.
Harvey bemoans that Clinton seeks to enforce part of her plan through the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights by having the office crack down on Title IX violations where transgender children are denied access to restrooms or locker rooms that are inconsistent with their gender identity. Those that continue to engage in anti-trans discrimination could lose federal funding as a result.
“These are…children designed like all others as male or female heterosexuals, who are sadly tempted to use their bodies in ways adults and schools should universally discourage,” Harvey writes about LGBT students. “There is nothing positive about homosexual behavior or gender pretense, and this is the position schools should always take for the long-term well-being of students.
“Under Hillary’s plan, Congress would pass the ‘Safe Schools Improvement Act.’ Sounds positive, until one realizes it would be a school ‘anti-bullying’ law to protect homosexuality and gender-switching as behavioral rights in schools,” she adds. “This is what a Hillary presidency will spend its time on. There’s an easy solution, however. Elect a more conservative candidate — Donald Trump.”
A mother in Bellingham, Washington, is lambasting school officials for the way they responded after her 16-year-old transgender son was beaten by a group of students.
Police are investigating the alleged attack, which occurred off school grounds, and are pursuing both assault and hate crime charges against several juveniles believed to have been involved in the October 22 beating, which was recorded on video and posted to social media.
The 16-year-old sophomore claims members of the group shoved, struck, and beat them repeatedly while shouting anti-trans phrases at them. The victim was able to run away and seek refuge at Bellingham High School, where they informed administrators of the attack.
Even as Donald Trump romped to victory in Tuesday's election, there were a few bright spots for our community, with the successes of LGBTQ candidates and ballot initiatives in select states and districts.
The biggest victory of the night was the narrow re-election of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat who managed to overcome a voter backlash against Democrats that swamped presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Baldwin, a lesbian, will return to the U.S. Senate as its only out LGBTQ elected official, as Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who is bisexual, and Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), a lesbian, are stepping down and did not pursue re-election.
A proud Cuban American transgender man, Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen is the Executive Director of Advocates for Trans Equality (A4TE).
METRO WEEKLY: Tell me about your experience on election night. How did you feel as the night started and when did it sink in for you that things weren't going as hoped?
RODRIGO HENG-LEHTINEN: I was nervous going into election night, as so many of us were. We know how high the stakes were. We know that our freedoms were on the line. So I was anxious.
As the night went on and things started looking like the vote count was against us, I still was quite patient. I've worked on campaigns for a long time now and have learned a lot about how vote counting works. You have to keep in mind that every ballot has to be counted, it takes time, and mail-in ballots are often the last ones to be counted, and they tend to skew Democrat. So I was patient, patient, patient, anticipating. We’ve got to count every vote to actually see where this lands. But as the hours passed, of course, that did not turn out to be enough.
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