The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill requiring federally funded public schools to “out” transgender students to their parents if school officials learn the students identify as a gender different from their assigned sex at birth.
H.R. 2616, the “Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act” — dubbed the “Don’t Say Trans” bill by critics — passed 217-198, with eight Democrats joining Republicans and one independent in support of the measure.
Sponsored by U.S. Reps. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Burgess Owens (R-Utah), the bill requires public schools to obtain parental permission before using names or pronouns that do not align with a student’s assigned sex at birth or recognizing a student’s gender identity.
The bill also prohibits schools from teaching concepts related to “gender ideology” — as defined by a Trump executive order declaring that the federal government recognizes only two sexes — or acknowledging transgender identity under threat of losing federal funding.
Walberg and Owens argued that there are only two sexes and that parental rights are violated when schools discuss gender identity without parents’ knowledge or support students’ social transitions without informing families.
“Too many schools are keeping parents in the dark about what’s happening in their own children’s classrooms,” Walberg said in a news release. “Families deserve honesty, not secrecy — especially when it comes to issues like gender identity. Simply put, parents should never be the last to know — that’s not political, it’s common sense.”
LGBTQ advocates condemned the bill, noting that it contains no exceptions for children who may be abused at home — meaning transgender students could be outed to their parents even when teachers or administrators suspect they may face physical harm over their gender identity.
“The GOP thinks they can legislate transgender people out of existence with this inhumane ‘Don’t Say Trans’ bill, but all they’re doing is making life worse for a small minority of already-vulnerable children,” Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, said in a statement.
Takano also argued that the bill is overly broad and could be interpreted as banning teachers from using students’ preferred names or pronouns even when parents have given explicit permission, for fear of being accused of “promoting gender ideology” in the classroom, reports Common Dreams.
The American Civil Liberties Union condemned the “Don’t Say Trans” bill, arguing that it “inject[s] politics into every classroom across the country.”
It remains unclear whether the bill can advance in the U.S. Senate, where Republicans lack the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.
Much of the outrage on the political right over transgender students in schools has been fueled by claims that educators are facilitating gender transitions or encouraging children to identify as transgender or nonbinary without parental involvement. Trump himself has falsely claimed in speeches that schools are performing gender confirmation surgeries on students without parents’ knowledge. But many such “horror stories” about schools secretly facilitating students’ gender transitions have fallen apart under closer scrutiny.
Niger's military junta has enacted a new penal code criminalizing homosexuality.
The West African nation is the latest African country to criminalize homosexuality, just months after Senegal doubled the penalty for consensual same-sex relations.
The new penal code, which took effect on June 11, punishes anyone who "commits or attempts to commit an immodest or unnatural act or practices lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender, Queer, intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA+) acts" with five to 10 years in prison and a fine. How authorities would determine what constitutes an "asexual act" remains unclear.
Social conservatives in Africa are pushing a charter that rejects longstanding international human rights standards and could roll back protections for women, girls, and LGBTQ people.
Participants from 20 African nations met at a conference in Ghana earlier this month to advance the latest version of the African Inter-Parliamentary "Family, Sovereignty and Values" charter. Supporters hope to secure enough backing to bring it before the African Union General Assembly next February for a vote, reports The Guardian.
The Malaysian government is following through on a pledge to replace references to LGBTQ identity with the term "budaya songsang," which translates as "deviant culture."
In February, Marhamah Rosli, the deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs), argued that replacing "LGBT" with "budaya songsang" in public discourse and on social media would prevent online algorithms from surfacing LGBTQ content and, in turn, prevent the "normalization" of queer culture.
"The more we utter, write, or state , the more 'pop-out' content related to it will appear," she said. "Without realizing it, we are promoting the culture unknowingly."
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