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.”
The Colorado Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit against a Christian baker who refused to create a cake celebrating a gender transition for a transgender woman on procedural grounds.
In doing so, the court sidestepped the issue of whether -- and to what extent -- a person's First Amendment rights override local nondiscrimination laws.
Lower courts in Colorado had previously ruled in favor of the woman, Autumn Scardina, finding -- based on the facts of the case -- that Jack and Debra Phillips, the owners of Masterpiece Cakeshop, in Lakewood Colorado, had discriminated against her by refusing to bake a custom-made cake only after they found out the purported significance of the cake.
The city council of Odessa, Texas, passed a "bathroom ban" that disallows transgender individuals from using restrooms in public buildings that don't match their assigned sex at birth.
The measure, approved by a 5-2 vote, expands a 1989 ordinance prohibiting individuals from entering restrooms of the opposite biological sex.
Under the updated ordinance, the city can seek fines of up to $500 against anyone violating the law. Those who enter facilities not designated for their assigned sex at birth will face misdemeanor trespassing charges, reported the Texas Tribune.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced plans to prohibit transgender individuals from using public bathrooms that match their gender identity on the House side of the U.S. Capitol complex.
As first reported by The Hill, Johnson announced the ban in a public statement. Under House rules, the Speaker has "general control" of facilities in the chamber, giving Johnson the authority to issue policy regarding restroom usage.
"All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings -- such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms -- are reserved only for individuals of that biological sex," Johnson said in the statement. "It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol."
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