Dems Refuse to Back GOPs 'Parental Bill of Rights' Legislation That Bans Sexually Explicit Materials

Dems Refuse to Back GOPs 'Parental Bill of Rights' Legislation That Bans Sexually Explicit Materials


Democrats have proven once again they are beholden to left-wing teachers’ unions and other education special interests, not to parents of school-aged children, including parents who voted for them.

On Friday, the House passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act, despite objections from Democrats who falsely claimed that it aims to promote “fascism” and “extreme” views of Republicans by making it simpler for parents to ban books and discriminate against LGBTQ+ students.

The GOP measure is a reaction to the increasing frustration across the nation regarding access to information about a wide range of issues, from school curricula and mask policies to the prevalence of gender ideology and critical race theory in classrooms. Parents’ concerns over these issues, voiced at school board meetings, have prompted the Biden administration’s Justice Department to investigate the “disturbing trend” of violent threats made against school officials, Fox News reported.

In response, House Republicans passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act, which mandates that school districts provide parents with access to curriculum and reading lists. It also mandates that schools notify parents if their child’s gender transition is encouraged or promoted by school staff, the outlet continued.

“The bill passed narrowly in a 213-208 vote that saw just a handful of Republicans vote against it, along with every Democrat,” Fox News noted.

“This Republican bill is asking the government to force the outing of LGBT people before they are ready,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., claimed on the House floor. “When we talk about progressive values, I can say what my progressive value is, and that is freedom over fascism.”

Republicans dismissed this argument, stating that parents have the right to be informed about what is happening to their children in school, particularly if schools are promoting gender transition without their consent, Fox News noted.

“The bill does not address a student’s identity or statements, but is solely focused on notifying parents about actions taken by school personnel to act on a gender transition, such as changing pronouns or switching locker rooms,” countered Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chair of the Committee on Education & the Workforce.

The bill states that parents have “the right to know if a school employee or contractor acts to… change a minor child’s gender markers, pronouns, or preferred name; or… allow a child to change the child’s sex-based accommodations, including locker rooms or bathrooms.”

Additionally, Democrats accused Republicans of attempting to make it simpler to ban books in schools, while other Democrats claimed that Republicans were attempting to ban books on various topics nationwide.

“Extreme MAGA Republicans don’t want the children of America to learn about the Holocaust,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. “They want to ban a book called ‘Melissa,’ a book describing, in very personal terms, the experience of a trans girl beginning to understand her identity.”

“They want to ban books, they want to bully the LGBTQ+ community, they want to bring guns into classrooms, kindergarten and above. That’s their educational agenda,” he added.

But Republicans corrected the record and said that the bill does not aim to ban books but rather grants parents the right to access a list of books available in school libraries and to have access to them.

“Nowhere in this bill is it banning any books,” noted Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., adding that the objective of the bill’s language is to ensure that parents know about the existence of sexually explicit books in school libraries, which Democrats have routinely defended.

Norman and other proponents of the bill also contended that books being criticized in some regions and communities contain explicit sexual content that is unsuitable for certain age groups and is not a fundamental educational requirement. Norman mentioned books that depict children who are “sexually active from the time I was six,” or that include “explicit images of oral sex.”

“Parents, is this something you want your children to read?” Norman asked. “Parents, is this something that encourages academics and allows that child to compete in the 21st Century?”


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