Missouri Advances “Don’t Say Gay” Bill

Taking a page from the bigots in Tennessee, the Missouri House has advanced a bill that effectively outlaws any mention of homosexuality in public schools. The bill is aimed at thwarting anti-bullying measures and would also prevent the formation of Gay-Straight Alliance clubs.

The bill reads:

170.370. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no instruction, material, or extracurricular activity sponsored by a public school that discusses sexual orientation other than in scientific instruction concerning human reproduction shall be provided in any public school.

The Vital Voice reacts:

For the last several years, PROMO and our allies have worked to advance pro-lgbt legislation, and we are seeing steady, continuing success. Filing this bill is a desperate tactic by frightened, bigoted, cynical individuals who are terrified at the advancement the LGBT community has made in breaking down the barriers to full and equal treatment under the law. Why else would they file a bill so clearly out of step with the growing trend for fairness in this state when similar legislation filed in Tennessee last year led that state’s legislature to become the object of national ridicule?