Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), the nation’s largest Republican organization dedicated to representing LGBTQ conservatives and allies, launched an attack on Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Buttigieg—a gay man, a former school teacher, and father—has been outspoken about the dangers of the proposed legislation and argues that the “Don’t say gay” bill could lead to more suicides among LGBTQ youths.
Florida House of Representatives Bill 1557 “Parental Rights in Education” would bar school districts in the state from encouraging classroom discussions about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary-grade levels.
“This will kill kids, @RonDeSantisFL. You are purposefully making your state a harder place for LGBTQ kids to survive in. In a national survey (@TrevorProject), 42 percent of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide last year. Now they can’t talk to their teachers?” Buttigieg tweets.
This will kill kids, @RonDeSantisFL. You are purposefully making your state a harder place for LGBTQ kids to survive in. In a national survey (@TrevorProject), 42% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide last year. Now they can't talk to their teachers? https://t.co/VtfFLPlsn3 — Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) January 20, 2022
“You’re essentially pushing kids back into the closet,” Buttigieg says during an appearance on CNN. “You’re saying we can’t even talk about your families.”
LCR President Charles Moran said in a press release,“Contrary to Chasten Buttigieg’s LGBT fear-mongering and attempt for attention on CNN, Florida’s ‘Parental Rights in Education’ bill will not silence gay people. It certainly will not kill them. All it does is reinforce the commonsense belief that teacher-led classrooms discussions around sexual and gender identity do not belong in primary schools.”
“Parents are free to discuss these issues with their children as they see fit, but that decision is up to the parents and not agenda-driven Leftists like Buttigieg,” says Moran.
The 1557 bill is being strongly opposed by Democrats in the state and a number of LGBTQ advocacy group, including the Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization that works on suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth.
The Trevor Project group said that if passed, the bill would “ban classroom discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, erasing LGBTQ identity, history, and culture—as well as LGBTQ students themselves.
