The teacher in the Maine video, Kailina Mills - no relation to the governor - said in a Facebook post that she has taught transgender and nonbinary preschoolers and that they deserve to be represented in the curriculum, the Portland Press Herald reported. Labeling education about sexual orientation and gender identity as “grooming” connotes the methods sex offenders use to molest children, and is part of a push by conservatives to speak to parents' fears by equating such education with pornography and pedophilia. “I think people are frustrated that elected officials haven’t done enough to call that out, that maybe Democrats are afraid of talking about religion and faith openly and honestly and calling hate what it is." “There is a difference between politics and outright hate,” she said in April, pondering the reaction to her speech. The video of McMorrow’s reaction speech and a related Twitter thread were widely celebrated, but there remains a sense - even by McMorrow - that she fell on a sword other Democrats are dodging. One notable exception has been Mallory McMorrow, a Democratic state senator from Michigan who gave an impassioned speech in response to an invocation from a Republican lawmaker who claimed McMorrow, who is running for reelection, wanted to “groom” and “sexualize” kindergarteners. “The root of why this is happening is a real lack of familiarity with and lack of understanding for trans folks and what it’s like to be transgender,” Hutchins said. In this election cycle, Republicans have zeroed in on the discussions banned by the Florida bill dubbed by opponents as “Don't Say Gay” the participation of transgender students in competitive sports, even though such conflicts are rare and gender-affirming care for children. The problem may be that even allies are not prepared to speak on the issues, which allowed the framing of LGBTQ people as a threat to catch on, said Fran Hutchins, executive director of the advocacy group Equality Federation. “These are the kinds of actions we need people to take," Alvarez said, “but not just because it's Pride month.” They want to see candidates go beyond prepared statements celebrating Pride month and instead place LGBTQ issues more at the center of the campaign while warning of the specific consequences of Republican victories. Tony Evers warned that if he loses in November, Republicans will take steps to ban books, especially those with LGBTQ themes.Įvers' approach is one activists say more Democrats should embrace this election year. She insisted that if she is reelected, Maine "will remain a safe and welcoming place to live for LGBTQ people.”Īnd in Wisconsin, Democratic Gov. Ron DeSantis this year after he signed legislation to ban the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.Įven after she distanced herself from the Department of Education video, Mills released a statement this week ticking through LGBTQ-friendly legislation she has signed. He recently named Karine Jean-Pierre as the first openly gay White House press secretary and was critical of Florida Republican Gov. “They’re not rallying the troops and saying, ‘Hey, we can’t stand for this.’”ĭemocrats are hardly silent on LGBTQ issues.Īs Pride month began this week, President Joe Biden tweeted his support for LGBTQ rights.
“Our lives and our existence are being used as political fodder to ramp up the GOP base, and they’re not coming to our defense,” said Deja Alvarez, a transgender woman who finished third in the Democratic primary in a heavily LGBTQ state legislative district in Philadelphia. With measured responses and occasional capitulation, Democrats like Mills are aiming to avoid getting sucked further into culture wars that serve mostly to galvanize the Republican base.īut as Democrats largely avoid direct confrontations, some LGBTQ people say they feel abandoned. While most Democrats support the rights, safety and visibility of LGBTQ adults and children, they're struggling to counter a barrage of GOP attacks on LGBTQ people, particularly transgender people.
Paul LePage, of using state money to create “radical school lessons.” Within hours, the lesson disappeared from the website, and Mills’ spokesperson said the governor was on board with its removal. Janet Mills, who is running for reelection against GOP former Gov. Republicans later produced an ad accusing Democratic Gov. “But some people, when they get a little bit older, realize what the doctors said was not right.” “A transgender person is someone who the doctors made a mistake about when they were born,” the teacher says in the lesson plan targeted at kindergartners.
WISCONSIN - "The T stands for transgender,” a teacher explains in a video on a Maine Department of Education website launched during the coronavirus pandemic.