Utah State Rep. Bill Wright (R) (Photo Credit: Al Hartmann, The Salt Lake Tribute)

Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) has not taken action yet on the recently passed abstinence-only/”don’t say gay” bill, but its proponents continue to defend it, even though it doesn’t enjoy popular support. Among other things, the bill prohibits “instruction in, or the advocacy of” homosexuality, but its sponsor, State Rep. Bill Wright (R), explained that homosexuality has “nothing to do with health,” except when it comes to abstaining from it:

WRIGHT: That has nothing to do with health. Homosexuality does not relate to sexuality. It’s a whole different thing… I can write the curriculum really simply. If you’re homosexual you have a high degree of [contracting] some STD. What else do you need to know? What else do I need to teach?

There are many answers to Wright’s question, but the most obvious lesson many young people need to hear is simply that “homosexuality is normal.” The entire goal of sex education is helping kids learn about their own bodies, the changes they’re experiencing, and how to make responsible decisions now that they’re being flooded with hormones. Wright wants an entire group of students — who are already stigmatized for what makes them different — to be deprived of the vital affirmation they need and deserve. If he honestly believes that “homosexuality does not relate to sexuality,” perhaps he’s not the best authority to be dictating sexuality curriculum.

The Tennessee House Education Committee voted today to again delay consideration of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill to first allow consideration of another bill that implements sweeping abstinence-only education requirements. This legislation (HB 3621) would stipulate a “family life education” curriculum that is rife with factual untruths, such as:

• Sexual health is best “encouraged” through abstinence-only education.
• Social science research supports “the benefits of reserving the expression of human sexual activity for marriage.”
• There is an “interrelationship between teen sexual activity and exposure to other risk behaviors such as smoking, underage drinking, drug use, criminal activity, dating violence, and sexual aggression.”

The bill is intended to reduce teenage pregnancy, but would surely have the opposite effect. Recent studies show that states with abstinence-only education requirements have the highest teen pregnancy rates. Young people who take virginity pledges have sex at the same rates as those who don’t, but are more likely to have unsafe sex when they do.

By limiting all conversations about sexuality to “abstinence until marriage,” this bill could have the same effect as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, condemning gay youth to a life of chastity and invisibility. Proponents may add amendments to incorporate the intended anti-gay censorship into this “family life education” curriculum or may still take up it separately, but either way, the results will reinforce anti-gay school environments. A new report from the Williams Institute examines the “Don’t Say Gay” bill’s harmful impacts:

• Hostile environments created by bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender nonconformity lead to adverse health effects for LGBT youth.
• Anti-gay stigma has been shown to be related to increases in violence against LGBT youth and adults, as well as to lower levels of health.
• Harassment based on sexual orientation and gender nonconformity is widespread with LGBT youth at heightened risk.
• Research shows that states and locales that promote LGBT-inclusive school policies help reduce teen suicide, and enhance the health and well-being of LGBT youth.
• Laws with negative and discriminatory impact on the LGBT community could have a negative economic impact for business and the state economy.

The House Education Subcommittee could begin considering the abstinence-only bill as early as tomorrow.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R)

After being postponed for several weeks, the Tennessee House Education Committee is again set to address the infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill today, which would ban schools from ever discussing sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-8. Gov. Bill Haslam (R) has reiterated his opposition, calling the bill a distraction and Rep. Joey Hensley’s (R) efforts to advance it a waste of time:

HASLAM: He knows and understands that, as I’ve said before, is not something I think is particularly helpful or needed right now. Again, I think the state already has rules in place about what can be taught.

Hensley, meanwhile, seems convinced that if he continues to tweak the bill, he can make it somehow palatable, though none of the changes made so far have actually altered its function. For example, the big change he made was to remove the section that banned providing “any instruction or material that discusses sexual orientation other than heterosexuality” and replace it with a provision that limits all teaching to “natural human reproduction science.” The obvious inference, as Hensley has clarified, is that this still rules out any instruction on same-sex orientations because only heterosexual couples can reproduce.

Either way, Hensley is trying to erase LGBT youth from Tennessee schools. As long as that is his goal, there’s nothing he can do to polish this bill to make it any less dangerous or offensive.

Anoka-Hennepin Superintendent Dennis Carlson (Photo Credit: Tom Weber, MPR News)

Administrators at Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin School District are none too pleased about Rolling Stone’s in-depth look at the school’s anti-gay reputation, the role of conservative Christians in fostering that reputation, and the several student suicides that exemplify it. Superintendent Dennis Carlson denounced the profile as a “brutal and distorted attack” that didn’t recognize any of the “immediate steps” that were part of the school’s response to the suicides. He also claimed that the district did not find any connection between the suicides and bullying, a sentiment also echoed in the official response offered by the district:

The article in Rolling Stone presents a grossly distorted portrayal of the Anoka-Hennepin School District, its schools, and its communities. [...]

When we learned that some teachers were confused over whether or not to intervene when witnessing bullying and harassment, the School Board and superintendent went on record stating that staff are required to intervene in all instances of bullying or harassment, if they do not they face discipline.

The district’s anti-bullying policy specifically protects sexual orientation.

None of the points made in the district’s response address the root of its problem: the “neutrality” curriculum policy that prevents teachers from discussing issues of sexual orientation. Given that most bullying is verbal, the policy makes it quite difficult for teachers and staff to interrupt homophobic harassment without talking about homosexuality, nor can any education take place about why comments like “dyke,” “faggot,” and “that’s so gay” are inappropriate. According to Tammy Aaberg, whose gay son Justin was among the students who committed suicide after experiencing severe bullying, the Rolling Stone article is “accurate,” and many students have reached out to her to echo its legitimacy.

Fortunately, the district will likely soon replace that provision with a new “Respectful Learning Environment” curriculum policy, which the teachers union has endorsed. In the meantime, Anoka-Hennepin serves as a model for how dangerous it can be when policies restrict staff from talking to students about LGBT issues or using education about those issues to help prevent bullying. As Andy Birkey points out at The American Independent, six states (Alabama, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah) have similar “No Promo Homo” laws that restrict LGBT outreach in schools, and Tennessee’s proposed “Don’t Say Gay” bill, compounded by a bill that would protect religious bullies, represents the possible expansion of harm against LGBT students.

It does not bode well for future LGBT students in Anoka-Hennepin School District that administrators are still not taking responsibility for their harmful policies and are calling exposure of that harm an “attack.”

Jacob Rogers

The Family Action Council of Tennessee (FACT) is using the suicide of Jacob Rogers — who was bullied relentlessly for being gay — to promote state legislation that would protect bullies who harass other students for their sexual orientation. The “license to bully” bill, HB 1153, was actually introduced last year, but FACT is hoping it will make headway in this new legislative session. Mirroring similar language that was recently proposed in Michigan, the bill creates specific protections for students who share any “religious, philosophical, or political views” that are “unpopular,” regardless of their consequences to the learning environment:

“Creating a hostile educational environment” shall not be construed to include discomfort and unpleasantness that can accompany the expression of a viewpoint or belief that is unpopular, not shared by other students, or not shared by teachers or school officials.

The policy shall not be construed or interpreted to infringe upon the First Amendment rights of students and shall not prohibit their expression of religious, philosophical, or political views; provided, that such expression does not include a threat of physical harm to a student or damage to a student’s property.

The bill is unabashedly designed to ensure that anti-LGBT bullying persists in the school system, as it specifically eliminates any protections or education that might help curb such harassment:

Harassment, intimidation, or bullying prevention task forces, programs, and other initiatives formed by school districts, including any curriculum adopted for such purposes, shall not include materials or training that explicitly or implicitly promote a political agenda, make the characteristics of the victim the focus rather than the conduct of the person engaged in harassment, intimidation, or bullying, or teach or suggest that certain beliefs or viewpoints are discriminatory when an act or practice based on such belief or viewpoint is not a discriminatory practice as defined in 4-21-102(4).

The mindset behind this bill flies in the face of data that shows the presence of LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying policies, supportive staff, and Gay-Straight Alliances all help minimize bullying. In addition to this bill, the Tennessee legislature will also reconsider the infamous “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prevents teachers and staff from providing any educational support about LGBT identities.

FACT’s outright endorsement of anti-gay bullying is horrifying, but not surprising. Like many small conservative organizations, FACT is mostly a one-man operation, and its president, David Fowler, regularly condemns anything related to LGBT equality. He personally helped script debate on last year’s bill that banned all municipal nondiscrimination protections throughout the state of Tennessee, disguising the discriminatory intent of the law with economic rhetoric. Fowler also ran transphobic ads opposing Nashville’s nondiscrimiantion protections and objected when insurer BlueCross BlueShield instituted similar corporate policies.

More than any of his past efforts, Fowler’s call for more bullying makes it clear his motives are malicious and have little to do with religious freedom or any other benefits for the state of Tennessee.