An Oklahoma school board member is citing the First Amendment to shield himself from criticism after sharing a profanity-laden TikTok video attacking parents of transgender children.
Andy McGuire, a board member for Velma-Alma Public Schools in Stephens County, Oklahoma, billed the video, a copy of which was obtained by The Oklahomannewspaper, as a “public service announcement.”
Posting under the handle @savagegent77, McGuire said in the video that he was speaking to parents who think it’s “okay for your child to decide if they want to be a girl or a boy or whatever other ridiculous-[expletive] pronoun you can come up with.”
“It’s going to be a shock, I understand, there are only two genders,” McGuire continued. “Let me repeat, there are only two genders.
“So if in your sick, twisted mind you’ve got some other thought process going on about girls and boys, do us all a favor, find the busiest street that you can find, take your ass out, lay down on the center line and do the world a favor.”
Velma-Alma Superintendent Raymond Rice told The Duncan Bannerthat McGuire’s comments have no affiliation with the district, but refused to comment further on the matter.
“I’m not going to speak to it — that particular board member is a private individual and was not representing Velma-Alma Public Schools and he wasn’t speaking on our behalf,” Rice said. “He is protected by the First Amendment. Other than that, I will not speak about it.”
When asked by reporters if the issue might arise at a future school board meeting, Rice again refused to comment further on the incident.
McGuire confirmed to the Banner via Facebook Messenger that he was the man in the video, and that he posted the video to his TikTok last week. He said the comments were not made on behalf of the school district, and said the video is protected under his constitutional right to free speech.
“First of all, I am a private citizen/individual and in no way, shape or form do I speak for or on behalf of Velma-Alma Public Schools,” McGuire said. “The things I share on my personal social media accounts are just that … personal. I’m thankful to live in a country where my freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment.”
Oklahoma has recently been in the news for its approach to cultural issues, which are front and center as school board meetings around the country have become battlegrounds over how — if at all — school districts should address issues of race, sexuality, and gender, as well as the content of or curriculum materials for history and English-language arts classes.
A bill introduced in the state legislature this year would allow parents to ban books with “sexual content,” which some people fear will be interpreted or implemented in a way that leads to bans on books containing LGBTQ characters or content, even if that content is incidental and not crucial to the plot.
Last year, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) ordered the Oklahoma Health Department to stop issuing nonbinary birth certificates after the State Health Department issued a birth certificate with a nonbinary gender marker in response to a lawsuit. Oklahoma Republicans threw a tantrum after the birth certificate was issued, arguing that birth certificates are intended to reflect vital statistics, and should not be amended to include a gender that does not match a person’s assigned sex at birth.
A page touting Golden Girls actress Bea Arthur's military service during World War II was reportedly scrubbed from the U.S. Department of Defense website as part of the Trump administration's overzealous efforts to purge anything related to diversity or LGBTQ identity.
Last week, X user @swiftillery noted that the article on Arthur -- first published in October 2021 -- had been removed from the Defense Department website.
According to The Advocate, the Internet Archive documented a "404 -- Page Not Found" message at the URL where the article had been housed.
Federal prosecutors are declining to pursue charges against James McIntyre, who was accused of injuring U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) by shaking her hand vigorously at a December reception honoring foster advocates.
The 33-year-old McIntyre is a former foster care youth who co-founded the Illinois chapter of Foster Care Alumni of America. He was named "Public Citizen of the Year" by the Illinois chapter of the National Association of Social Workers in 2019 due to his advocacy on behalf of youth in the foster care system.
Mace, one of six co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, delivered a speech praising advocates for foster care youth at a December 10 reception at the Rayburn House Office Building.
The Trump administration has ordered the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the physical and mental health effects of transitioning, both socially and medically.
In an internal NIH memo obtained by National Public Radio, Acting NIH Director Mark Memoli declared that the agency should study the impact of "social transition and/or chemical and surgical mutilation" among trans-identifying children.
Specifically, the White House wants the NIH to study "regret" and rates of so-called "detransition" among children and adults who have previously transitioned.
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An Oklahoma school board member is citing the First Amendment to shield himself from criticism after sharing a profanity-laden TikTok video attacking parents of transgender children.
Andy McGuire, a board member for Velma-Alma Public Schools in Stephens County, Oklahoma, billed the video, a copy of which was obtained by The Oklahoman newspaper, as a “public service announcement.”
Posting under the handle @savagegent77, McGuire said in the video that he was speaking to parents who think it’s “okay for your child to decide if they want to be a girl or a boy or whatever other ridiculous-[expletive] pronoun you can come up with.”
“It’s going to be a shock, I understand, there are only two genders,” McGuire continued. “Let me repeat, there are only two genders.
“So if in your sick, twisted mind you’ve got some other thought process going on about girls and boys, do us all a favor, find the busiest street that you can find, take your ass out, lay down on the center line and do the world a favor.”
Velma-Alma Superintendent Raymond Rice told The Duncan Banner that McGuire’s comments have no affiliation with the district, but refused to comment further on the matter.
“I’m not going to speak to it — that particular board member is a private individual and was not representing Velma-Alma Public Schools and he wasn’t speaking on our behalf,” Rice said. “He is protected by the First Amendment. Other than that, I will not speak about it.”
When asked by reporters if the issue might arise at a future school board meeting, Rice again refused to comment further on the incident.
McGuire confirmed to the Banner via Facebook Messenger that he was the man in the video, and that he posted the video to his TikTok last week. He said the comments were not made on behalf of the school district, and said the video is protected under his constitutional right to free speech.
“First of all, I am a private citizen/individual and in no way, shape or form do I speak for or on behalf of Velma-Alma Public Schools,” McGuire said. “The things I share on my personal social media accounts are just that … personal. I’m thankful to live in a country where my freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment.”
Oklahoma has recently been in the news for its approach to cultural issues, which are front and center as school board meetings around the country have become battlegrounds over how — if at all — school districts should address issues of race, sexuality, and gender, as well as the content of or curriculum materials for history and English-language arts classes.
A bill introduced in the state legislature this year would allow parents to ban books with “sexual content,” which some people fear will be interpreted or implemented in a way that leads to bans on books containing LGBTQ characters or content, even if that content is incidental and not crucial to the plot.
Last year, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) ordered the Oklahoma Health Department to stop issuing nonbinary birth certificates after the State Health Department issued a birth certificate with a nonbinary gender marker in response to a lawsuit. Oklahoma Republicans threw a tantrum after the birth certificate was issued, arguing that birth certificates are intended to reflect vital statistics, and should not be amended to include a gender that does not match a person’s assigned sex at birth.
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