Louisiana House Bill 466 - “Don’t Say Gay” Bill

  Ladies and gentlemen, and all of us who are neither and or both. A welcome, welcome, welcome to Sophie's legislative review and authoritarian bingo extravagance.

I'm your host Sophie. And in this exciting episode where we're reviewing Louisiana house bill 466, as well as the committee hearing of the same, which took place April 26th, 2023.

This is Louisiana's, don't say gay bill and as such, you guessed it, we should probably have a content warning. There is transphobia, queer phobia in general ignorance in the recordings we'll here. And should you follow the links to the notes in the full recording as published by the Louisiana house of representatives, please know there is a mention of suicide and self-harm. Please take care of yourself, friends.

[Music]

Okay. So this bill is Louisiana's version of the Don't Say Gay bill. It would be in any discussion of sexual preference or gender identity in schools from kindergarten all the way through 12th grade here is the sponsor, representative Horton, explaining what it does.

This bill is a parental rights and education bill. One that, uh, ensures that when our children and our grandchildren are dropped off at school, that we can be of, have the assurance that they're going in the classroom and they're going to be taught the approved state standard or the curriculum that's based on the state standard.

And as seems to be the Vogue in these types of settings, the sponsor brought along two elderly white gentleman to help explain the need for the bill and the dangers that kids are facing these days.

God says a few things about this. Genesis 1 27 and Genesis five, one, mark 19, four, and Mark, I'm sorry, Matthew 19 four, mark 10, six. They all say he created them in his image. Male and female, you know, and that's not something we think we need to be messing with, changing. And um, so I just leave that, I leave that right there with the scriptures.

Parents rightly fear their kids are being groomed. Uh, I leave you with that thought. That's what science, some of the science, uh, then common sense teaches against it, I believe. Uh, we recently had a female Supreme Court Justice who wasn't sure she was a female.

 Uh, uh, Hmm. That reference to a female Supreme court justice, uh, might be related to the confirmation hearing of justice Jackson, in which a Congresswoman from Tennessee asked her to define the word woman. But that's speculation on my part because there doesn't seem to be any requirements for people speaking in these committees to explain or justify anything they say.

But dear listener, even if you're not convinced that Louisiana needs this bill, based on that one dude's reading of the Bible. Or his particular memory of a confirmation hearing. Rest assured that there is an even stronger reason for this bill. And that reason is. Everyone else is doing it.

we've seen other states like Kentucky yesterday have passed a bill of this similar nature, Missouri it's in legislation right now it's made it to the Senate, Arkansas, Alabama

Uh, there are a few others, uh, from Arizona to Georgia to Iowa, and several others that are promoting same bills. Some have already passed. Some are our discussion right now, Oklahoma, recently, Tennessee, Ohio.

I mean, you want to wait, you got to be the only state that doesn't pass this bill. Come on.

Oh, and speaking of how no one who speaks in these committees seem to be held responsible for the bizarre things they say. Here's just one more example. Here's someone that the bill sponsor, Rep Horton, brought to speak.

we believe that children pre-kindergarten through fifth grade are too young to decide on sexual preferences, sexual identity, and to be introduced to sexualization.

Okay. So first it's not at all clear why anyone would think that children and pre-K to fifth grade would hear about these topics in school. But perhaps more to the point for today is the fact that Louisiana's Don't Say Gay bill actually goes all the way to 12th grade, not just fifth grade. Representative Jefferson comes so close to asking someone to explain that, but then he just doesn't.

And then the last thing is you indicated, um, the, the one of the speakers initially talked about the early years and it was intimated. Your bill says from kindergarten to 12. It does. So I, I just think we are, and, and I'm not going to even get into the, the religiosity of it because notwithstanding all of that, what I believe is L O V E and all of us can stand on that.

Absolutely.

Uh, Rep Jefferson, you get some points for listening skills, I suppose. But you lose even more points for spending your time trying to find a middle ground on religion, rather than asking your actual question.

Some of my favorite parts of any committee meeting is when a bill sponsor is asked about their motivation for their bill. Early in the committee hearing for this one, there was a reference to some specific event. Here's representative Freiburg asking the bill sponsor representative Horton, to clarify that event. And why it justifies this bill.

I would like to know, my question actually is what is the specific example in Caddo Parish?

Well,

no one seems to be an answer.

Well, there is. I can, I can after the committee, I can tell you what tweet to go read. I'm not gonna read it out here.

It was a tweet that she saw once you guys that should clear it up, put your minds at ease, rest, easy, everyone. There was a tweet.

When I think about these bills, I think about what it means to be a parent. As a parent of young children, it makes me sad to think that the parents that these parents, right bills seek to protect don't seem to talk to their children. These must be scared and distant and all around just bad parents. Or maybe they're just afraid that their kids might be gay or trans or queer, or might just not want to live the life that their parents chose to live.

I invite these parents to get to know their children. To understand them as people and to engage with them as humans who are learning their place in this large and beautiful and diverse world.

Or if that's too much to ask, I propose that you just raise your kids and let me raise mine and stop trying to pass laws that restrict my children's education and life experiences just because you won't talk to your kids.

There's so much more to say about this bill and about the dozens of people that showed up to wait and speak against it. But honestly, this whole thing just makes me tired. A sentiment summarize wonderfully, I think, by Jane Mitchell during her testimony.

I think like a lot of other people, I really don't want to be here this morning. I, this feels like dejavu. It feels like, you know, it was only a year ago we were here and arguing the same things with the same people. And I think that most of this, um, I think most of this committee has already decided how they're gonna vote.

And part of it, it, it feels futile to me to, to be up here, but something I tell my children, um, when I talk about my life and I talk about things I regret, and I say that there are a lot of things I regret doing, but I, the things that I didn't do are the things that I regret most. And I would regret not speaking out against this disingenuous mean-spirited and cynical Bill that seeks to, um, codify into law that not all individuals, that not all families, are created equal.

But I would like to say that the idea that you treat people the way they want to be treated, that you call people what they would like to be called, and that you respect their basic dignity and humanity is not the extreme position.

I agree with you, Jane. So let's just get onto the review.

As you might guess I'm giving this two big thumbs down. It turns out just because all your friends are doing it.

Arizona to Georgia to Iowa

Doesn't mean you have to do it.

As for the committee hearing itself? Well much like house 81 which happened right after this one on that sunny Tuesday. It was exhausting and depressing on so many levels,

but honestly, seeing so many trans and queer people and allies show up, was really beautiful. Still though we could have done that at a party. So let's go ahead and give it all mostly bad review.

And now everybody, it is bingo time.

If you have the following in your card, please give yourself a big high five and give a loved one a hug.

• Number one. Any of the following Bible verses Genesis 1:27, Genesis 5:1, mark 10:6

• Number two. Female Supreme court justices unsure of their gender.

• Number three. pre-K to fifth grade somehow equals kindergarten to 12th grade.

• Number four. A tweet justifying this legislation.

• Number five L O V E being what we can all stand on.

Congratulations to the winners of this exciting episode is Sophie's legislative review and authoritarian bingo Xtrordinair.

This was a production of Louisiana Trans Oral History Project. Views expressed here only my own and probably also my dogs. Thanks to Andrew Kuo for the original music.

Be safe out there, everyone. And tell the ones that you love. That you love them. See you next time.