Sponsor of ‘Don't Say Gay' expansion plans to revive bill next year
An Alabama lawmaker plans to bring back a bill next year that would prohibit all discussions of gender identity and sexuality during instructional time in public schools.
HB 244 got approval from the House on April 18 and from the Senate Education Policy Committee on May 1. Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, chair of that committee, told Butler after the bill was approved that it is unlikely the Senate will pass it because of the timing and said it needed to be in his committee earlier in the year to have a chance of passage; at the time, there were four days left in the session.
A Democratic filibuster launched in protest of the House's handling of local bills on the last day of the session doomed Butler's bill and many others.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Butler said he was offended by Chesteen's comment that he should have filed the bill sooner but said both men remedied that after the committee meeting. A message seeking comment from Chesteen was left Thursday afternoon.
Butler filed the bill in February, but it did not go before the House Education Policy Committee until April 3, when the committee held a public hearing. The committee did not approve it until the following week. Butler said he asked Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, chair of the committee, for it to be put on the agenda many times earlier in the session.
'I repeatedly asked for it, and I was assured it was coming, it was coming, it was coming,' he said. 'The chair had other things she said she was dealing with, and I think they waited to deal with several controversial bills at one time.'
A message seeking comment from Collins was left Thursday afternoon.
Butler said next year he plans to have a companion bill in the Senate to improve the bill's chances of passage, 'so we can move on both at the same time, and whoever gets there first wins,' he said.
Butler said Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston, was handling the bill in the Senate and plans to ask him to sponsor the Senate version next year. Kelley said in an interview that he and Butler will be meeting soon about companion bills for next session soon.
'There may be some changes to it, a little bit here, a little bit there,' Kelley said. 'We're planning on bringing that back next year.'
The law currently prohibits such discussions in K-5. Butler's bill would expand it to pre-K-12, which he said would bring it inline with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in January.
Critics of the bill said at the April 3 public hearing that the legislation is unconstitutional and unnecessary.
A spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center, a consistent critic of the legislation, said in an interview Thursday she was relieved that the bill did not pass but she still had concerns for the legislation next year.
'I'm hoping that it stays dead, and I'm hoping that we don't see a new extension, a revival of it,' Makhayla DesRosiers, state community organizer for the Alabama SPLC office, said.
Many members of the LGBTQ+ community spoke against the bill throughout the legislative process, all with similar concerns: what defines instructional time. DesRosiers said the lack of a definition opens the door for a complete prohibition of discussion.
'If I do extracurricular activities, is it also instructional time? If I'm learning something outside of my regular school hours, is that instructional time?' she asked. 'Who gets to define instructional time?'
Butler has repeatedly said discussions of gender identity and sexuality are only prohibited when a teacher is teaching, but that is not explicit in the legislation.
'People keep saying the student can't do this or that. No, they carry their First Amendment rights with them into the school, and they absolutely can talk to the teacher, the principal, the nurse, the counselor, about whatever they want to talk about,' he said.
Butler said the bill next year would be the original bill that was filed in February. A House amendment this spring removed a part of the bill that would have prohibited teachers from referring to students by their preferred gender if it conflicts with their assigned sex at birth. He said that is because another bill would have done the same thing.
HB 246, sponsored by Rep. Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle, would give public educators legal immunity and students immunity from discipline for using a person's legal name and pronouns aligned with their reproductive organs, instead of the name and gender with which they identify. It did not receive final passage either.
DesRosier said that while the people speaking out against the legislation may be small in number, legislation like this is not reflective of the state.
'Just because there is a majority of folks that are proposing and voting on these bills at the State House, that is not reflective of the communities they are elected to represent,' DesRosier said. 'As long as bigotry and hate and human rights violations are proposed and passed, there are always going to be folks that are resisting that.'
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
13 minutes ago
- The Hill
Tariff rebate checks in 2025? What we know about current legislation
(WJW) – It's not a pandemic stimulus check, but Congress is currently weighing the possibility of sending the American people more money. As part of the American Worker Rebate Act, introduced by Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri in July, people would receive hundreds of dollars in tariff rebate checks, which work to counteract the financial burden imposed on families by the Trump administration's tariffs. As the bill stands now, a household would get $600 for every child and adult – meaning a family of four would receive $2,400. Check amounts go down for those U.S. residents who are making more than $150,000 as a family or $75,000 individually. The bill has not been passed by the Senate or the House, and it must overcome multiple obstacles before being brought to President Trump's desk to sign. However, last month, Trump did say he was 'thinking about' approving a rebate. If the revenue from the latest tariff rollout exceeds projections, the bill leaves room for a larger rebate to be sent out to the American people. So far, there has been no word from Congress or the IRS on the possibility of a fourth stimulus check, like those issued during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. A rebate is a refund of something already paid for, while a stimulus is simply money given to pump up the economy. The U.S. Senate is currently on break for the summer and will be back in action on Sept. 2.
The Hill
13 minutes ago
- The Hill
Watch live: Newsom outlines plan to combat Trump, GOP redistricting
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will speak to reporters Thursday afternoon as the mid-decade redistricting battle heats up across the U.S. ahead of the 2026 midterms, a day after announcing the ' Liberation Day ' event. His remarks come as Democrats push back against GOP 'gerrymandering' efforts in Texas that could give Republicans five additional seats in next year's election. Newsom sent a letter to President Trump and red state leaders earlier this week urging them to end the redistricting war. After Trump missed the deadline to respond, the governor said the Golden State would also be redrawing its House maps to counteract attempts to 'rig' the lines in the Lone Star State. The event is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Watch the live video above.
Los Angeles Times
13 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
D.C. Mayor Bowser walks delicate line with Trump, reflecting the city's precarious position
NEW YORK — As National Guard troops deploy across her city as part of President Trump's efforts to clamp down on crime, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is responding with relative restraint. She's called Trump's takeover of the city's police department and his decision to activate 800 members of the guard 'unsettling and unprecedented' and gone as far as to cast his efforts as part of an 'authoritarian push.' But Bowser has so far avoided the kind of biting rhetoric and personal attacks typical of other high-profile Democratic leaders, despite the unprecedented incursion into her city. 'While this action today is unsettling and unprecedented, I can't say that, given some of the rhetoric of the past, that we're totally surprised,' Bowser told reporters at a news conference responding to the efforts. She even suggested the surge in resources might benefit the city and noted that limited home rule allows the federal government 'to intrude on our autonomy in many ways.' 'My tenor will be appropriate for what I think is important for the District,' said Bowser, who is in her third term as mayor. 'And what's important for the District is that we can take care of our citizens.' The approach underscores the reality of Washington's precarious position under the thumb of the federal government. Trump has repeatedly threatened an outright takeover of the overwhelmingly Democratic city, which is granted autonomy through a limited home rule agreement passed in 1973 that could be repealed by Congress. Republicans, who control both chambers, have already frozen more than $1 billion in local spending, slashing the city's budget. That puts her in a very different position from figures such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Democrats whose states depend on the federal government for disaster relief and other funding, but who have nonetheless relentlessly attacked the current administration as they lay the groundwork for potential 2028 presidential runs. Those efforts come amid deep frustrations from Democratic voters that their party has not been nearly aggressive enough in its efforts to counter Trump's actions. 'Unfortunately she is in a very vulnerable position,' said Democratic strategist Nina Smith. 'This is the sort of thing that can happen when you don't have the powers that come with being a state. So that's what we're seeing right now, the mayor trying to navigate a very tough administration. Because this administration has shown no restraint when it comes to any kind of constitutional barriers or norms.' Bowser's approach marks a departure from Trump's first term, when she was far more antagonistic toward the president. Then she routinely clashed with the administration, including having city workers paint giant yellow letters spelling out 'Black Lives Matter' on a street near the White House during the George Floyd protests in 2020. This time around, Bowser took a different tact from the start. She flew to Florida to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after he won the election and has worked to avoid conflict and downplay points of contention, including tearing up the 'Black Lives Matter' letters after he returned to Washington in response to pressure from Republicans in Congress. The change reflects the new political dynamics at play, with Republicans in control of Congress and an emboldened Trump who has made clear he is willing to exert maximum power and push boundaries in unprecedented ways. D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson said she understands Bowser's position, and largely agrees with her conclusion that a legal challenge to Trump's moves would be a long shot. Trump invoked Section 740 of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act in his executive order, declaring a 'crime emergency' so his administration could take over the city's police force. The statute limits that control to 30 days unless he gets approval from Congress. 'The challenge would be on the question of 'Is this actually an emergency?'' said Henderson, a former congressional staffer. 'That's really the only part you could challenge.' Henderson believes the city would face dim prospects in a court fight, but thinks the D.C. government should challenge anyway, 'just on the basis of precedent.' Trump told reporters Wednesday that he believes he can extend the 30-day deadline by declaring a national emergency, but said 'we expect to be before Congress very quickly.' 'We're gonna be asking for extensions on that, long-term extensions, because you can't have 30 days,' he said. 'We're gonna do this very quickly. But we're gonna want extensions. I don't want to call a national emergency. If I have to, I will.' Bowser's response is a reflection of the reality of the situation, according to a person familiar with her thinking. As mayor of the District of Columbia, Bowser has a very different relationship with the president and federal government than other mayors or governors. The city is home to thousands of federal workers, and the mass layoffs under Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency have already had a major impact on the city's economy. Her strategy has been to focus on finding areas where she and the new administration can work together on shared priorities. For now, Bowser appears set to stick with her approach, saying Wednesday that she is focused on 'making sure the federal surge is useful to us.' During a morning interview with Fox 5, she and the city's police chief argued an influx of federal agents linked to Trump's takeover would improve public safety, with more officers on patrol. Police Chief Pamela Smith said the city's police department is short almost 800 officers, so the extra police presence 'is clearly going to impact us in a positive way.' But Nina Smith, the Democratic strategist, said she believes Bowser needs a course correction. 'How many times is it going to take before she realizes this is not someone who has got the best interests of the city at heart?' she asked. 'I think there may need to be time for her to get tough and push back.' Despite Trump's rhetoric, statistics published by Washington's Metropolitan Police show violent crime has dropped in Washington since a post-pandemic peak in 2023. A recent Department of Justice report shows that violent crime is down 35% since 2023, reaching its lowest rate in 30 years. Colvin writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Ashraf Khalil and Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.
