As Pride month kicked into high gear throughout the nation, the Texas state legislature passed a bill to ban school clubs meant to support LGBTQ+ students. The new bill will prohibit schools from authorizing or sponsoring student clubs based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Those who supported the bill claim it puts control back into the hands of parents.
Senate Bill 12, introduced by Sen. Brandon Creighton also targets DEI policies in schools. If it is signed by the governor, it will become law starting on Sept. 1.
According to Newsweek, the bill’s passage “marks a significant escalation in Texas’ ongoing campaign against what conservatives describe as ideological indoctrination in education.” Legislators believe what children learn in school dictates whether or not they are queer, despite the fact that queer people have existed through all of history.
Democrats in Texas’ legislature had a lot to say about the bill. Many took moments to condemn it on Saturday. “The real monsters are not kids trying to figure out who they are. The monsters are not the teachers who love them and encourage them and support them. The real monsters are in here,” said Representative Gene Wu, (D-Houston). During his time to speak he implored conservative lawmakers to see that these clubs exist to counter the long history of oppression of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other lawmakers shared stories to express their discontent with the bill’s passing. According to The Texas Tribune, Rep. Rafael Anchía spoke of his daughter’s experience as president of a Pride club at her school. He said the clubs were “no more about sex than 4-H or ROTC or the basketball team.”
“They’d get together and they’d watch movies. They’d color. They’d go to musicals. It was about a kid who felt weird who found her people and everything about it was good. I don’t know why grown-ups in this body are so triggered with my daughter getting together with her classmates in a school-sponsored activity.”
Other representatives warned about the dangers of the ban. “We have the nerve to say that we care about mental health,” said Jolanda Jones. “We’ve passed bill after bill about access to care, about youth suicide, about prevention and treatment. But this bill makes kids sicker, sadder, more alone. This bill doesn’t protect children. It endangers them. It doesn’t give parents more rights. It strips children of their dignity.”
