WORLD NEWS | North Carolina’s measure to limit LGBTQ+ classes goes to governor’s desk

RALEIGHT, June 30 (AP) – North Carolina lawmakers finalized legislation touted by Republicans on Thursday that would give parents more power over their children’s public school education and health care, with restrictions on LGBTQ+ teaching in the lower grades being A key clause.

The Senate passed the measure a day after the House pushed through some changes, and it will now go to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is expected to veto the bill.

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The bill also requires public school teachers to warn parents before referring to students by different names or pronouns in most cases.

Critics have likened the ban on teaching about gender identity and sexuality in K-4 classrooms to the Florida law, which opponents have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.”

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But proponents say those topics should be left to parents at this age.

A similar “Parents’ Bill of Rights” measure was introduced during last year’s session but stalled in the House, in part because Republicans believed at the time that it would be difficult to override Cooper’s veto given the number of Democrats.

Republicans now have undeniable majorities in both chambers, but a House Republican voted against it Wednesday, suggesting that a successful overturn of the decision this year is not yet a certainty.

“The gist of this bill is that North Carolina parents should have the right to raise their children as they see fit for their families, without being questioned, interrogated or undermined by the state of North Carolina,” said Senator Amy Galey. ) explain. Alamance County Republican and lead bill sponsor. She spoke before the Senate voted 26 to 13 along party lines to pass the measure.

The Republican-dominated Legislature has also brought other bills affecting LGBTQ+ youth to Cooper’s desk over the past week that could also be defeated. One of the measures would ban any medical professional from giving hormone therapy, puberty blockers and sex reassignment surgery to anyone under the age of 18. Another measure would bar transgender girls from participating in middle school, high school and varsity athletic programs designed for girls.

Wake County Democratic Sen. Lisa Grafstein, an LGBTQ+ lawmaker, said the bills constitute a one-sided culture war waged by those unwilling to accept the rapid expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

She cited children and parents who opposed the bills at this year’s meeting, saying the measures would stoke fear among transgender youth and other students.

“Queer people are all here. We’ve always been here. Most people have evolved to understand and accept that fact,” says Grafstein. “What we’re seeing here is the last remnant of the eradication of the LGBTQ community.”

The latest measures also give parents specific rights to direct their children’s education, care and training; to access their school records; and to be informed quickly if the government or schools suspect crimes against them. It directs public school units to provide policies on parental involvement and how to encourage student achievement in the classroom. It also specifies that healthcare practitioners must obtain written parental consent before minors receive treatment.

Some parent groups and social conservatives pushed the latest measures, sometimes pointing to books on LGBTQ+ topics in schools that they say are obscene and make it difficult to understand what kids are learning during the pandemic.

Some public school systems and schools have policies in place to withhold information from parents about children seeking to change pronouns or names in order to protect teens, Galli said. This, she said, has wrongly fueled mistrust.

On the curriculum, Senator Greg Meyer, an Orange County Democrat who opposes the bill, said lower grades teachers should be equipped to address gender and Different family structure issues … this bill makes it harder, not easier.”

The definition of a course “does not include responses to questions posed by students,” the bill says.

Sen. Jim Perry, Republican of Lenoir County, said there was disagreement within society on the topic of gender and sexuality being appropriate for young children, and “by not including a point of view in the curriculum, we acknowledge that, Everyone feels whatever they want.”

LGBTQ+ rights group Equality NC urged Cooper to veto the bill. The socially conservative North Carolina Values ​​Coalition said he should sign the deal. (Associated Press)

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