By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Friday, May 13, President Barack Hussein Obama (D), announced an Executive Order threatening school superintendents with loss of Federal funds, if they do not allow school children to use the bathroom of their choice, based on their chosen gender identity.
State Senator Phil Williams (R-Rainbow City) opposes Pres. Obama’s transgender agenda. Sen. Williams said, “Yesterday, after much thought and prayer, I finalized and filed a bill in the Alabama Senate, in response to the transgender bathroom debate that is ongoing across the nation. Today the Obama administration went even further by issuing an Executive “strong suggestion” to all public schools, and holding the threat of the loss of Federal funds over our superintendents’ heads. My bill is designed as a backstop in the event that this issue is forced on Alabama, in contravention of our existing laws regarding privacy and security. This fight has just begun.”
State Representative Will Ainsworth said, “Like many of you, I am outraged and disgusted by the Obama administration’s threat to withdraw Federal funding from states that do not allow so-called “transgender” students to use the bathroom, locker room, and shower facilities of their choosing. Alabama will not succumb to Obama’s extremist extortion.”
The Co-director of the Rainy Day Patriots Ann Eubank blamed state officials for the close ties with the US Department of Education. Eubank told The Alabama Political Reporter, “Thank you Common Core! For five years we’ve been trying to warn you about what was coming, and now it’s here. When the State Superintendent and the Governor signed on to Race To The Top, they agreed to follow mandates from the Department of Education. Sexuality Education and Tolerance beginning in Kindergarten, is one of those mandates. It’s too late to stop this train wreck, but those Alabama legislators and State School Board members who put aside the welfare and education of our children for Federal dollars need to go. The election of 2018 is not that far away.”
State Representative Kerry Rich (R-Albertville) said, “I have had enough. This latest thing where President Obama has said he will order all schools to allow transgender individuals to choose the restroom they want to use, regardless of body parts has gone way too far. In my view, this is sick. It is a sad day when we have a President that is more concerned about how someone might feel discriminated against than even considering the moral code of a VAST majority of parents and grandparents that are concerned about their children being exposed to things that all good people consider immoral. I will support legislation in the Legislature that will mirror the law North Carolina passed. I am upset, mad and determined to do what I can to see this does not stand. This is where we draw the line in the sand.”
The President of the Montgomery based Foundation for Moral Law Kayla Moore said, “They don’t want you saying anything about what they do in their bedroom, but they want to come into our bathrooms?! Enough!” Kayla Moore is married to Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore (R).
Rep. Ainsworth said, “Gender is not a choice. It is a fact that is determined by biology, and by God, not by how masculine or feminine you feel when you wake up in the morning. Dressing like a pirate doesn’t make you a pirate, dressing like an astronaut doesn’t make you an astronaut, and dressing like the opposite sex doesn’t make you a man or a woman.”
The Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) celebrated the decision. GLSEN’s Executive Director, Dr. Eliza Byard, thanked the US Department of Education and US Department of Justice for issuing guidance to school districts across the country regarding how to accommodate transgender and gender nonconforming students, as required by Title IX.
Dr. Byard said, “GLSEN is thrilled that the Departments of Education and Justice have provided such comprehensive guidance to schools across the nation on serving transgender students. This guidance is as an essential tool for school leaders who must protect public school students from discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression and ensure that all of their students learn and thrive in a healthy school climate. In the midst of overheated public debate, this guidance underscores best practices currently in place in a number of districts to help school leaders understand their obligations and find the best path forward in serving their students.”
Dr. Byard continued, “It is too easy to lose sight of the actual students in the eye of the current political storm. This guidance serves to re-center their rights and the need to support them in overcoming the severe challenges they can face in the school environment, including harassment, violence and discrimination. Tonight they know that they are not alone in facing those challenges. Indeed, the United States government itself has their backs.”
GLSEN concluded, “We call on all states and districts to live up to their responsibility to all of their students by creating and implementing policies that align with this guidance. We look forward to working with them to create school climates where their transgender and gender nonconforming students can succeed. GLSEN thanks former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education John King, Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Vanita Gupta for their leadership in the effort to make sure that all students in this country have access to schools where they can thrive.”
GLSEN announced that it has, “Created model laws and policies for schools, districts and states to ensure lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students are safe and affirmed at school, including a model district policy for accommodating transgender and gender nonconforming students that complies with Title IX.” GLSEN says is, “Envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender
identity/expression. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes to creating a more vibrant and diverse community.”
Rep. Ainsworth said, “Like many of you, I am outraged and disgusted by the Obama administration’s threat to withdraw federal funding from states that do not allow so-called “transgender” students to use the bathroom, locker room, and shower facilities of their choosing. Alabama will not succumb to Obama’s extremist extortion.”
Ainsworth announced, “In the next legislative session, I will be introducing a law to block Barack Obama’s insane demand from being implemented in Alabama and in the interim call upon the State School Board to immediately promulgate a policy clearly requiring public school students to use the facilities that comply with their biological gender…Our nation’s morals, our State’s values, and our children’s future are at stake, so we must take action now.”
