Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA) wants American youths to be taught gender stereotypes in grade school classes, so they understand the roles of mothers and fathers — and the importance of allowing only opposite-sex couples to marry.
In a speech Monday on the House floor, Gingrey stressed his continued support for the Defense of Marriage Act — which defines marriage as only union between a man and a woman — and suggested that children need to be carefully taught about the traditional roles of their genders:
GINGREY: You know, maybe part of the problem is we need to go back into the schools at a very early age, maybe at the grade school level, and have a class for the young girls and have a class for the young boys and say, you know, this is what’s important. This is what a father does that is maybe a little different, maybe a little bit better than the talents that a mom has in a certain area. And the same thing for the young girls, that, you know, this is what a mom does, and this is what is important from the standpoint of that union which we call marriage.”
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While Gingrey is right that each parent brings different strengths to a family, his suggestion that only opposite-sex couples can bring complementary skills is nearly as archaic as his view that children should be taught to conform to his outdated view of gender roles. And despite his assertions, the gender of parents has never been proven to be a relevant factor in the quality of parenting.
Though Gingrey ranks among the most anti-LGBT Members of Congress, he has previously argued that it is wrong to “try to create divisiveness” among races or “one gender against the other, male versus female,” saying, “I’m sick of all that and I think the American people are too.”