By Megyn Kelly
After successfully reaching across the aisle, Republicans and Democrats of the Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a bill supporting veterans to obtain the benefits they are entitled to more quickly and fairly. They agreed on editing the bill to enforce more medical benefits, such as access to specific doctors and the medicine they need. The second bill proposed was controversial. The bill proposed that the sexual orientation and gender identity of teachers should not be introduced in the classroom. I am for a bill similar to this: our children should not be learning about any topic relating to LGBTQ+ in the classroom. However, the focus of the bill needs to be corrected. The legislation should lean towards fixing the education for these YOUNG children to learn about fundamental subjects, such as Mathematics, Science, Geography, and English, not about gender identity. The classroom is inappropriate for discussing sexual orientation and “gender identity.” We must protect our children from liberal propaganda.
The committee quickly got heated by Democrats questioning the bill.
Representative Chu (Jasmine Torres) began the questions by asking, "Why is this bill important?"
The Witness responded, "The importance of this bill is addressing the concerns of the education system being clouded by propaganda that does not need to be in our classroom. This bill would maintain neutrality in education by allowing students privacy."
Cori Bush (Sasha Angel) continued, "This bill discriminates according to state laws."
The Witness creatively answered, "We see this as a strength of this bill because it gives discretion to local/state authorities to decide what the penalties of this law would be.
Questioning became more interesting when they addressed the only problem in the bill, which was interesting because it was handled by both parties.
Representative Pocan (Hayden Johnson) expresses, "I would just like to point out the problems in the wording of this bill surrounding gender identity. You pointed out you are only talking about transgender identity. A teacher could reference they are a man or want to be called a man and be fired for that. The vagueness of this bill causes teachers to be wrongly discharged, or personal information could be taken as where they live, and they can be fired for that."
The sentiment of this bill is admirable; however, its execution is half-baked. The bill is vague, rushed, and does not represent its intended legislative goals.
Enough of the Democrats! A Republican jumped into the conversation:
Gaetz (Bashir Hassan) says, "I see sex as what you are born as and gender as what a person believes to be. Do you believe this ideology is harming our children? Do you think kids under 18 should be discussing this with your teachers?
Witness responds, "Yes, it harms our children and does not belong in any educational environment."
AOC (Penelope Burwell) argues: "You are not referring to educating children about sexual orientation. It is just a matter that an educator can't say: I'm Mrs, I'm Mr, my wife, my husband. That is the only part you are making legislation for? Correct?"
The Witness, "We are not discussing classes, we are placing restrictions on what will be discussed, we are not implementing new education, just introducing a bill that will maintain neutrality in existing courses."
AOC continues, "Should teachers not be called Mr. and Mrs. then? You are admitting to targeting LGBTQ communities by saying they cannot disclose their gender, but a cis-gender woman can say their personal information?"
The Witness responded, "Mr and Mrs are not included as gender identity because anybody can use them regardless of their identity. We see this as irrelevant from the bill."
Questioning continues, still trying to clarify what this bill is about,
Chu, "Do you think this violates our First Amendment rights? I can't answer a simple question if I am a woman, yes or no?"
Witness, "There is a time and place to express your beliefs, and a classroom is not one of them. As an educator in public schools, your job is not to exercise your First Amendment rights. Your job is to educate your students. Talking about your students' gender and sexual orientation has no place in the education system. Educators can discuss this outside of classrooms. Therefore, they still have their First Amendment rights."
Chu says, "This bill makes no sense. It should not even be considered to pass."
Gaetz, "I agree with Representative Chu that the bill is vague. This bill does not address the main problem. I believe that the main problem in the education system is the education on gender identity. This should not be discussed with students under 16 years old. This bill does not address the main problem. While I believe there should only be males and females, this bill addresses the wrong problem."
AOC, "I agree with Gaetz. This bill does speak about the education of students about gender identity. It simply restricts teachers from talking about their personal identity. That is literally insane."
Chu ends the debate with a bang, saying, "Due to disagreements and language on the bill, I would like to make a motion to "kill it."
For the time being, the committee has decided to lay the bill on the table, but many agree with the GOP's suggestion to write a brand new bill with a better emphasis on the downfall of the education system and how we can fix it.
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