After pushing for CRT in schools, the media’s found a new parental rights issue to attack. On The View Wednesday, the co-hosts bashed a Florida bill that prohibits teachers from teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to very young children in the classroom. Taking cues from left-wing activists, the hosts dubbed it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and bashed it as harmful to children.
Joy Behar introduced the topic by playing a soundbite of support for the bill from Governor Ron DeSantis before asking fellow host and Florida resident Ana Navarro, “What message does this send to gay children, their parents? What would you say?”
Navarro said she was "very upset" about the Parental Rights in Education Bill. Like the media did with Critical Race Theory, Navarro denied the evidence and claimed that this was a fictional bogeyman that would stigmatize LGBTQ families:
"I'm very upset about this. First, I think it's not a necessary bill. There is -- first graders are not having a curriculum that teaches sexuality," she stated. The CNN analyst added that the bill sends a "very chilling message to LGBTQ families," and tells students "you are not welcome here, and I also am very concerned about the legal implications because the bill allows you to -- allows parents to sue."
She complained, “What happens if a kid raises her hand in class and says, you know, I have two mommies. What's the teacher supposed to do with that? Say, sorry, we can't talk about that?”
Sunny Hostin also ranted against the bill, equating it to anti-CRT bills in schools, which she slammed as “anti-Black history.”
[These conversations] do need to be had, and this falls under the rubric of parental rights legislation, right? It started with CRT. Let's remember that. If you start coming after those -- those are anti-history laws. Anti-Black history laws really. If you start coming after black people, who comes next? The LGBTQ+ community, and then women and then other marginalized groups. I'm surprised parents have jumped on the bandwagon that this is where it leads. We've seen this so many times in our country and in history globally!
Of course, none of this is true. The Republican state representative who introduced the bill said it would not bar the topic of “LGBTQ History” or bar students talking about their families in the classroom.
So what about parents who back the bill? Hostin claimed they should just pull their kids out of those discussions like she did when her fourth-grade children were sent home pamphlets about sex toys and masturbation. “They were little kids. I was very uncomfortable. My choice was to take them out of those discussions, and parents can do that.”
They seemed to miss the point of bills like these, which is that parents usually aren’t informed ahead of time that their kids are going to be taught inappropriate and graphic material.
Echoing Hostin’s false assessment of the right, Joy Behar added that “the whole Republican party is in a state of denial. Don't talk about slavery. Don't talk about gays."
The co-hosts' desire to subject little kids to these sexualized was unfazed even after guest co-host and CNN commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin pointed out the bill only focuses on the lesson plans for "3-year-olds to third graders" and "makes exceptions that students can still have private conversations with their teachers..."
"After a year out of the classroom and honestly before we were underperforming other countries, we need to be focusing 3-year-olds to third graders on arithmetic, reading writing. If we want to have these conversations as they're older, it's totally appropriate," she added.
The View taking the lead from far-left activists and the White House was sponsored by Kit Kat, whom you can contact at the Conservatives Fight Back page linked.
Read the transcript below:
The View
2/9/22
11:02 AM EST
JOY BEHAR: Okay. There's one hot topic that could be taboo in Florida classrooms soon. The so-called don't say gay bill is moving forward in the state legislature and wants to keep gender and sexual identity discussions out of primary schools and Governor Ron DeSantis says he supports it. Watch.
RON DESANTIS: We've seen instances of different folks being told by different folks in school, oh, you know, don't worry. Don't pick your gender yet. Do all this other stuff. They won't tell the parents about these discussions that are happening. That is entirely inappropriate. Since this debate has started, people have reported to me, you know, that has happened in areas that you would not expect it, you know, to happen. You have politicians saying, parents have no role in the education of their kids. Give me a break.
BEHAR: I love his purple tie. Didn't you love it? [chuckles] Questions.
ANA NAVARRO: I couldn't stop watching. It was like an airplane. He had airplane seats behind him right?
BEHAR: What message does this send to gay children, their parents? What would you say? This is your state, Miami.
NAVARRO: I'm very upset about this. First, I think it's not a necessary bill. There is -- first graders are not having a curriculum that teaches sexuality. I also think that the message it sends is a very chilling one for LGBTQ families. You know, we are the family, the Republican party is the party of family values, and I don't know -- I don't know what it means when you have, you know, when a kid has two dads or two moms, or maybe just one, you know, it's just -- the message is you are not welcome here, and I also am very concerned about the legal implications because the bill allows you to -- allows parents to sue.
HOSTIN: To sue.
NAVARRO:-- If a teacher doesn't tell them. What happens if a kid raises her hand in class and says, you know, I have two mommies. What's the teacher supposed to do with that? Say, sorry, we can't talk about that?
HAINES: They can have private discussions.
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN: I actually agree with Ana. I don't think this is necessary. How widespread of an issue is this that we need this as a policy coming down from the state? But I would say this. I'm an ally of the LGBTQ community.
This is probably a mistake to do, but a little more nuanced in what it actually does. It specifically targets 3-year-olds to third graders. It makes exceptions that students can still have private conversations with their teachers, which I think is incredibly important. I know people personally who first came out to teachers. So it doesn't bar that. I think these kind of discussions though more broadly might fit better into sex education which happens later in education.
BEHAR: If at all.
FARAH: These conversations absolutely do need to be had.
HOSTIN: They do need to be had, and this falls under the rubric of parental rights legislation, right? It started with CRT. Let's remember that. If you start coming after those -- those are anti-history laws. Anti-black history laws really. If you start coming after black people, who comes next? The LGBTQ+ community, and then women and then other marginalized groups. I'm surprised parents have jumped on the bandwagon that this is where it leads. We've seen this so many times in our country and in history globally. I will say that, you know, when my kids went through sex education, I think they were in fourth grade, there were things that I was uncomfortable with. They sent out this, I don't know, pamphlet that had masturbation, and had sex toys.
BEHAR: How old were they?
HOSTIN: Fourth grade. They were little kids. I was very uncomfortable. My choice was to take them out of those discussions, and parents can do that.
BEHAR: Yeah.
HOSTIN: But these parents, I think, in this bill is requiring everyone to parent the way they want to be parented.
HOSTIN: Yeah. That is not parental.
NAVARRO: I want to tell this story. I have a friend whose father used to be a state legislator, a state senator in Florida for about 20 years. My friend was gay. His father was very homophobic, and would beat him up. So if a little kid, if a 5-year-old, 6-year-old says, I don't know how I'm feeling and goes and talks to the teacher, the teacher is now compelled to tell the parent.
If not, they are liable. Not every home is, you know, a Cleaver home. Not every home is a safe haven for children.
So I think -- I also think that, you know, Republicans are supposed to be small government, not a big brother is watching. So the idea that there's these people up on high in Tallahassee telling teachers and school boards all over Florida what they have to do and how they have to behave with their students, to me, that is something that makes me very uncomfortable, and there's another bill to which you were alluding because this is about sexuality and gender. There's another bill that prohibits any conversation that will make anybody feel guilty or feel discomfort.
HOSTIN: Yeah.
BEHAR: Sara?
HAINES: This is clearly a political move because you guys have referenced it. I doesn't seem they're showing a prevalent problem. If you are going to take legislation through the governor for the entire state, show me some data. Even his examples were anecdotal. He said, I don't think it's it's going to be in large numbers and because he's Republican, I tend to agree. I'm more conservative on I don't believe in banning things. I don't believe in wiping things out. Even if I disagree --
BEHAR: But that’s the whole Republican party is in a state of denial. Don't talk about slavery. Don't talk about gay–
HAINES: The not banning in general tends to be more in line. This is confusing to me in general. I don't believe that -- sex ed right now they're couching this as a parenting rights thing which Sunny alluded to. In Florida, you can remove your child in these districts. They already have their option to take their child.
HOSTIN: That's what they should do.
HAINES: The danger here is our teachers are first responders for children in crisis, whether it's abuse at home, neglect at home.
BEHAR: Yeah.
HAINES: They know if a child hasn't eaten a meal. If you start to lose the trust, and although private conversations are allowed, this brings a shadow of shame to the conversation, and I think we need easy to teachers.
What about sex education with this bill? This bill is not about sex education.
HOSTIN: It’s about censorship.
NAVARRO: It's about the little 5-year-old boy who wears a dress to class, and the kids will ask, why is Bobby wearing a dress?
FARAH: But what you can’t lose in this is these are the youngest kids and our kids are falling behind. After a year out of the classroom and honestly before we were underperforming other countries, we need to be focusing 3-year-olds to third graders on arithmetic, reading writing. If we want to have these conversations as they're older, it's totally appropriate.
HOSTIN: This is anecdotal, but my god daughter who is lesbian, knew she was lesbian when she was 5 years old. Many many gay children know that they are gay when they are very young.
[cross-talk]
