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‘I deserve to be valued’: LGBTQ youth speak out against statehouse Republican bills

cigaretteman

HR King
May 29, 2001
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Deplorable!:

While LGBTQ children pleaded Tuesday with state lawmakers to be treated with decency and respect, supporters of a Republican-led proposal to bar Iowa’s public schools from teaching lesbian, gay and transgender-themed issues mocked trans youth, claimed that schools should follow Christian teachings and blamed LGBTQ advocates for suicides and school shootings.


It all came out of two legislative hearings at the Iowa Capitol on bills related to public education and LGBTQ-related issues. Statehouse Republicans advanced three bills:


  • Senate File 83, which would prohibit K-8 public schools from teaching gender identity;

  • House File 9, which would require a parent’s permission before public school staff could refer to a student by a different gender identity;

  • House File 7, which would require public universities to report to state lawmakers their definitions of dozens of terms, including many that are related to LGBTQ people or issues of race and diversity.

At a legislative hearing on the proposal to prohibit K-8 schools from teaching about gender identity, some young LGBTQ Iowans told lawmakers how such bills impact them.


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“When my mom told me about this bill, I felt angry,” said Berry Stevens, a middle school student from West Des Moines. “I deserve to be valued and protected. But this bill does the opposite of that.”


Stevens said a year ago when they started sixth grade, they changed their pronouns. They said at school they were picked on and called homophobic slurs, but their teachers and administration were supportive and took steps to protect them.


“That would be impossible under this bill,” Stevens said. “I need you to protect me and others like me.”


Sarah SmallCarter and her transgender daughter, Odin, from Fort Dodge, both spoke at the hearing. Sarah SmallCarter described Odin coming out just before the start of second grade, and how adamant and excited she was.


“That’s all we’re asking for, is that you treat our kids in schools with basic human decency and respect. That’s it,” Sarah said. “This (proposed law) would deny that. It would target our children.”


Odin also spoke, saying she gets bullied at school for being transgender.


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“I get bullied at school a lot because they say I’m a boy,” she said. “I’m trying my best to make them understand.”


The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ youth suicide and crisis prevention organization, said such measures add to existing stigma and discrimination of LGBTQ youth, who already face higher health and suicide risks than their peers. When given access to spaces that affirm their gender identity, they report fewer suicide attempts, the Trevor Project says.


Supporters of the bill argued that the topic of gender identity should be exclusive to parents and their children — and not discussed in public schools.


Nicole Hasso, who ran in the Republican primary for Congress in 2022, offered her thoughts on who is to blame for those elevated suicide rates among LGBTQ youth.


“Because of (LGBTQ advocates’) actions, their blood is on your hands. Every suicide, every school shooting, every school bullying,” Hasso said. She said students should be sent to school to be educated, “not to be groomed.”


Another woman who spoke at the hearing used mocking air quotes when referring to a transgender boy, and multiple speakers insisted public schools should be following Christian values while educating students.


Ryan Benn, a lobbyist for the Christian conservative advocacy organization The Family Leader, called the discussion of gender identity “theology,” and “a religion of its own” that is “anti-Christian.”


At a separate hearing on the bill that would prohibit schools from affirming or recognizing a student’s preferred gender identity in school without written consent from parents, supporters argued the bill keeps parents informed and ensures that school employees can’t hide information about a student’s requested gender transition or identity from the child’s parents.


“Children are the sole responsibility of the parents,” said Patty Alexander, a retired teacher from Indianola. “A teacher is not the parent. The teacher works for the parents and the school he or she is employed with. We need educators, schools and administrators to stay in their lane.”


Critics said the measure undermines LGBTQ support in schools and endangers the safety, welfare and autonomy of transgender and gender-fluid youth, and places educators in an impossible position: risk legal and career ending consequences or forcibly “out” LGBTQ students grappling with their personal identity to potentially unsupportive or abusive family members.


“We encourage them to come out to their parents on their own time. They are the best judges of their own safety, not bureaucrats in Des Moines,” said Damian Thompson, director of public policy and communication for the advocacy group Iowa Safe Schools. “This bill is a form of government overreach that will ultimately put students in direct danger.”


Thompson said transgender youth face a real risk of rejection by adults. Iowa Safe Schools offers services to LGBTQ and allied youth and students who have been bullied.


“Many of the students who we work with one-on-one have been kicked out of their homes due to abusive and non-affirming environments,” he said.


Organizations representing Iowa school boards, school administrators and teachers note the bill forces them to violate both state and federal law, including Title IX, that prohibits sex-based discrimination and harassment in any school or education program.


The Iowa Department of Education also states the preference for the use of pronouns should be the choice of the student, and that school leaders work collaboratively with students and families while honoring the choice of students.


Republicans advanced Senate File 83, making it eligible for consideration by the full Senate education committee.


Later Tuesday, Republicans advanced both House File 7 and House File 9 out of the House education committee, making both eligible for debate by the full House. Both passed on party-line votes with Democrats opposed.


The committee discussion on House File 7 included testy exchanges between Rep. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, and bill sponsor Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull.


Staed questioned the need for the legislation and accused Republicans of a “witch hunt.” Wheeler and fellow bill sponsor Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, took umbrage at his remarks.

 
This is the best shot the LGBTQ community has of being taken serious by these folks. Putting the kids up there. Because the adult "advocates", as we've seen, are a complete mess when they have to speak or answer questions on a stage like this.
 
Science currently says the brain is not fully developed until your mid-20’s. Especially your pre-frontal cortex which controls impulses.


Yet the party of so-called “science & reason” says elementary aged children are ready to make adult, life altering decisions at a very young age.

Can’t have it both ways.
Yeah, I'm pretty much of the view that youth aren't entitled to any deference on pretty much any issue, whether it be sexual identity or the relative merits of the designated hitter.
 
Science currently says the brain is not fully developed until your mid-20’s. Especially your pre-frontal cortex which controls impulses.


Yet the party of so-called “science & reason” says elementary aged children are ready to make adult, life altering decisions at a very young age.

Can’t have it both ways.
Why do we allow gun ownership pre 20s then? Or fighting in wars? Or marriage?
 
Deplorable!:

While LGBTQ children pleaded Tuesday with state lawmakers to be treated with decency and respect, supporters of a Republican-led proposal to bar Iowa’s public schools from teaching lesbian, gay and transgender-themed issues mocked trans youth, claimed that schools should follow Christian teachings and blamed LGBTQ advocates for suicides and school shootings.


It all came out of two legislative hearings at the Iowa Capitol on bills related to public education and LGBTQ-related issues. Statehouse Republicans advanced three bills:


  • Senate File 83, which would prohibit K-8 public schools from teaching gender identity;

  • House File 9, which would require a parent’s permission before public school staff could refer to a student by a different gender identity;

  • House File 7, which would require public universities to report to state lawmakers their definitions of dozens of terms, including many that are related to LGBTQ people or issues of race and diversity.

At a legislative hearing on the proposal to prohibit K-8 schools from teaching about gender identity, some young LGBTQ Iowans told lawmakers how such bills impact them.


Advertisement

“When my mom told me about this bill, I felt angry,” said Berry Stevens, a middle school student from West Des Moines. “I deserve to be valued and protected. But this bill does the opposite of that.”


Stevens said a year ago when they started sixth grade, they changed their pronouns. They said at school they were picked on and called homophobic slurs, but their teachers and administration were supportive and took steps to protect them.


“That would be impossible under this bill,” Stevens said. “I need you to protect me and others like me.”


Sarah SmallCarter and her transgender daughter, Odin, from Fort Dodge, both spoke at the hearing. Sarah SmallCarter described Odin coming out just before the start of second grade, and how adamant and excited she was.


“That’s all we’re asking for, is that you treat our kids in schools with basic human decency and respect. That’s it,” Sarah said. “This (proposed law) would deny that. It would target our children.”


Odin also spoke, saying she gets bullied at school for being transgender.


On Iowa Politics​


Newsletter Signup
checkmark-yellow.png
Legislative & Politics News Delivered to your inbox each weekday






“I get bullied at school a lot because they say I’m a boy,” she said. “I’m trying my best to make them understand.”


The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ youth suicide and crisis prevention organization, said such measures add to existing stigma and discrimination of LGBTQ youth, who already face higher health and suicide risks than their peers. When given access to spaces that affirm their gender identity, they report fewer suicide attempts, the Trevor Project says.


Supporters of the bill argued that the topic of gender identity should be exclusive to parents and their children — and not discussed in public schools.


Nicole Hasso, who ran in the Republican primary for Congress in 2022, offered her thoughts on who is to blame for those elevated suicide rates among LGBTQ youth.


“Because of (LGBTQ advocates’) actions, their blood is on your hands. Every suicide, every school shooting, every school bullying,” Hasso said. She said students should be sent to school to be educated, “not to be groomed.”


Another woman who spoke at the hearing used mocking air quotes when referring to a transgender boy, and multiple speakers insisted public schools should be following Christian values while educating students.


Ryan Benn, a lobbyist for the Christian conservative advocacy organization The Family Leader, called the discussion of gender identity “theology,” and “a religion of its own” that is “anti-Christian.”


At a separate hearing on the bill that would prohibit schools from affirming or recognizing a student’s preferred gender identity in school without written consent from parents, supporters argued the bill keeps parents informed and ensures that school employees can’t hide information about a student’s requested gender transition or identity from the child’s parents.


“Children are the sole responsibility of the parents,” said Patty Alexander, a retired teacher from Indianola. “A teacher is not the parent. The teacher works for the parents and the school he or she is employed with. We need educators, schools and administrators to stay in their lane.”


Critics said the measure undermines LGBTQ support in schools and endangers the safety, welfare and autonomy of transgender and gender-fluid youth, and places educators in an impossible position: risk legal and career ending consequences or forcibly “out” LGBTQ students grappling with their personal identity to potentially unsupportive or abusive family members.


“We encourage them to come out to their parents on their own time. They are the best judges of their own safety, not bureaucrats in Des Moines,” said Damian Thompson, director of public policy and communication for the advocacy group Iowa Safe Schools. “This bill is a form of government overreach that will ultimately put students in direct danger.”


Thompson said transgender youth face a real risk of rejection by adults. Iowa Safe Schools offers services to LGBTQ and allied youth and students who have been bullied.


“Many of the students who we work with one-on-one have been kicked out of their homes due to abusive and non-affirming environments,” he said.


Organizations representing Iowa school boards, school administrators and teachers note the bill forces them to violate both state and federal law, including Title IX, that prohibits sex-based discrimination and harassment in any school or education program.


The Iowa Department of Education also states the preference for the use of pronouns should be the choice of the student, and that school leaders work collaboratively with students and families while honoring the choice of students.


Republicans advanced Senate File 83, making it eligible for consideration by the full Senate education committee.


Later Tuesday, Republicans advanced both House File 7 and House File 9 out of the House education committee, making both eligible for debate by the full House. Both passed on party-line votes with Democrats opposed.


The committee discussion on House File 7 included testy exchanges between Rep. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, and bill sponsor Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull.


Staed questioned the need for the legislation and accused Republicans of a “witch hunt.” Wheeler and fellow bill sponsor Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, took umbrage at his remarks.

Republican leaders are bigoted assholes. I’ll start with Ron DeSantis…who a third of this board would happily vote for.
 
I lost a dear, dear friend in the 1980s because he could not be his true self in front of others and out in society at large, and in particular with his own parents. At his funeral I was overcome by anger at his parents for their toxic reaction to his honesty. I had zero compassion for them in their time of grief because they had showed him no compassion when he was living.

We've made some great strides as a society since then but I fear we are currently backpedaling on this front.
 
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.....and this issue has PASSION on both sides. The legislature is not the place to settle this debate. The home is.....but obviously the home does not work in all cases.
But if you want a phuqued up "solution" that solves nothing and avoids the real issue(s).....take it to the legislature and let these folks settle it.
 
Deplorable!:

While LGBTQ children pleaded Tuesday with state lawmakers to be treated with decency and respect, supporters of a Republican-led proposal to bar Iowa’s public schools from teaching lesbian, gay and transgender-themed issues mocked trans youth, claimed that schools should follow Christian teachings and blamed LGBTQ advocates for suicides and school shootings.


It all came out of two legislative hearings at the Iowa Capitol on bills related to public education and LGBTQ-related issues. Statehouse Republicans advanced three bills:


  • Senate File 83, which would prohibit K-8 public schools from teaching gender identity;

  • House File 9, which would require a parent’s permission before public school staff could refer to a student by a different gender identity;

  • House File 7, which would require public universities to report to state lawmakers their definitions of dozens of terms, including many that are related to LGBTQ people or issues of race and diversity.

At a legislative hearing on the proposal to prohibit K-8 schools from teaching about gender identity, some young LGBTQ Iowans told lawmakers how such bills impact them.


Advertisement

“When my mom told me about this bill, I felt angry,” said Berry Stevens, a middle school student from West Des Moines. “I deserve to be valued and protected. But this bill does the opposite of that.”


Stevens said a year ago when they started sixth grade, they changed their pronouns. They said at school they were picked on and called homophobic slurs, but their teachers and administration were supportive and took steps to protect them.


“That would be impossible under this bill,” Stevens said. “I need you to protect me and others like me.”


Sarah SmallCarter and her transgender daughter, Odin, from Fort Dodge, both spoke at the hearing. Sarah SmallCarter described Odin coming out just before the start of second grade, and how adamant and excited she was.


“That’s all we’re asking for, is that you treat our kids in schools with basic human decency and respect. That’s it,” Sarah said. “This (proposed law) would deny that. It would target our children.”


Odin also spoke, saying she gets bullied at school for being transgender.


On Iowa Politics​


Newsletter Signup
checkmark-yellow.png
Legislative & Politics News Delivered to your inbox each weekday






“I get bullied at school a lot because they say I’m a boy,” she said. “I’m trying my best to make them understand.”


The Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ youth suicide and crisis prevention organization, said such measures add to existing stigma and discrimination of LGBTQ youth, who already face higher health and suicide risks than their peers. When given access to spaces that affirm their gender identity, they report fewer suicide attempts, the Trevor Project says.


Supporters of the bill argued that the topic of gender identity should be exclusive to parents and their children — and not discussed in public schools.


Nicole Hasso, who ran in the Republican primary for Congress in 2022, offered her thoughts on who is to blame for those elevated suicide rates among LGBTQ youth.


“Because of (LGBTQ advocates’) actions, their blood is on your hands. Every suicide, every school shooting, every school bullying,” Hasso said. She said students should be sent to school to be educated, “not to be groomed.”


Another woman who spoke at the hearing used mocking air quotes when referring to a transgender boy, and multiple speakers insisted public schools should be following Christian values while educating students.


Ryan Benn, a lobbyist for the Christian conservative advocacy organization The Family Leader, called the discussion of gender identity “theology,” and “a religion of its own” that is “anti-Christian.”


At a separate hearing on the bill that would prohibit schools from affirming or recognizing a student’s preferred gender identity in school without written consent from parents, supporters argued the bill keeps parents informed and ensures that school employees can’t hide information about a student’s requested gender transition or identity from the child’s parents.


“Children are the sole responsibility of the parents,” said Patty Alexander, a retired teacher from Indianola. “A teacher is not the parent. The teacher works for the parents and the school he or she is employed with. We need educators, schools and administrators to stay in their lane.”


Critics said the measure undermines LGBTQ support in schools and endangers the safety, welfare and autonomy of transgender and gender-fluid youth, and places educators in an impossible position: risk legal and career ending consequences or forcibly “out” LGBTQ students grappling with their personal identity to potentially unsupportive or abusive family members.


“We encourage them to come out to their parents on their own time. They are the best judges of their own safety, not bureaucrats in Des Moines,” said Damian Thompson, director of public policy and communication for the advocacy group Iowa Safe Schools. “This bill is a form of government overreach that will ultimately put students in direct danger.”


Thompson said transgender youth face a real risk of rejection by adults. Iowa Safe Schools offers services to LGBTQ and allied youth and students who have been bullied.


“Many of the students who we work with one-on-one have been kicked out of their homes due to abusive and non-affirming environments,” he said.


Organizations representing Iowa school boards, school administrators and teachers note the bill forces them to violate both state and federal law, including Title IX, that prohibits sex-based discrimination and harassment in any school or education program.


The Iowa Department of Education also states the preference for the use of pronouns should be the choice of the student, and that school leaders work collaboratively with students and families while honoring the choice of students.


Republicans advanced Senate File 83, making it eligible for consideration by the full Senate education committee.


Later Tuesday, Republicans advanced both House File 7 and House File 9 out of the House education committee, making both eligible for debate by the full House. Both passed on party-line votes with Democrats opposed.


The committee discussion on House File 7 included testy exchanges between Rep. Art Staed, D-Cedar Rapids, and bill sponsor Rep. Skyler Wheeler, R-Hull.


Staed questioned the need for the legislation and accused Republicans of a “witch hunt.” Wheeler and fellow bill sponsor Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, took umbrage at his remarks.


Sad they had to parade children around.
 
K thru 8th graders fight and die for us?
Pretty sure someone talked about brain developing until 24. So why should 18 year olds have to fight with an undeveloped brain? Also, it’s gross that you dismiss young people who already know who they are attracted to.
 
Science currently says the brain is not fully developed until your mid-20’s. Especially your pre-frontal cortex which controls impulses.


Yet the party of so-called “science & reason” says elementary aged children are ready to make adult, life altering decisions at a very young age.

Can’t have it both ways.
Who believes that? The large majority on HORT believe that children that wish to transition should wait until they are 18. There may be some exceptions such as potential suicide.
 
Last edited:
Who believes that? The large majority on HORT believe that children that wish transition should wait until they are 18. There may be some exceptions such as potential suicide.
I don't want to put words in Uros mouth, but I believe I was said that doctors won't touch surgery until 18.
 
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Why on earth is a kid starting sixth grade "choosing" a pronoun. It's asinine.

That being said, legislators should be above making snide and rude comments about it. If you can't make your point without mocking someone you're not intelligent. Too many of our legislators are morons.
 
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.....and this issue has PASSION on both sides. The legislature is not the place to settle this debate. The home is.....but obviously the home does not work in all cases.
But if you want a phuqued up "solution" that solves nothing and avoids the real issue(s).....take it to the legislature and let these folks settle it.
Rumor has it The Farm Bureau is working on a law. Once determined the FB folks will let the legislators which way they need to vote.
 
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