In a violent and terrible bill that Gragg’s personal brother condemned next week, Missouri State Representative Jamie Gragg introduced legislation last month that had logo teachers as sex offenders for affirming any transgender student’s gender identity. ” I saw this as overt anger wrapped up in the pretense of protecting children”, Charles Gragg, Jr. told reporters during a March 7 press conference held by PROMO, Missouri’s leading LGBTQ+ campaigning business.
Highlights of Gragg’s censure of his nephew and his serious, pro- freedom harm:
- Gragg blabs the true intentions of Missouri’s MAGA politicians, saying,” It rather actually took my breath away. Part of the reason behind this is that we may punish those who disagree with our position as well as eliminate them from coming conversations,” he later said. It is” simply malicious,” and to call it “protecting kids” is just paint for contempt.
- Gragg blasts the president’s continuous and damaging effects because of the feigned concern it claims to address:” You’re going to put people on a sexual offender registry or charge them with a criminal that removes their ability to vote and may cost them their jobs,” he said.
- Gragg makes reference to his own bullying as a young person, claiming that the bill outlaws positive reinforcements that all vulnerable children need to thrive and survive.” It frightens and angers me to think that if this legislation was in place then, it could have ended their careers and destroyed their lives,” he said. ” It’s just hateful and malicious. Just for the sake of being compassionate, this legislation will cost lives and recklessly destroy others.
Charles Gragg, a retired, disabled Army veteran and “professional grandpa”, got in touch with pro- equality forces at PROMO, a statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, within minutes of finding out about his brother’s dangerous bill, the first of its kind in the nation. Teachers or school counselors who assist with the” social transition” of a child could use anything from providing counseling to simply using a student’s preferred name and pronouns to even displaying affirming literature, according to HB 2885, which was filed on February 29. Teachers would also be forced to register as sex offenders, effectively ending educators ‘ careers.
The legislation comes as MAGA lawmakers across the nation continue to feign the ability to use government power to advance an extreme anti-equality agenda. It is the first bill in the country to impose a sentence in prison for teachers who affirm students ‘ LGBTQ+ identities, drawing a line from the far-right radicals ‘ book in Russia, where any display of support for the LGBTQ+ community is punishable by both prosecution and imprisonment.
There is an increasing and disturbing correlation between states that pass anti-LGBT+ legislation and a rise in bullying and hate crimes in schools, according to a story published by The Washington Post this week. Since the onset of legislative attacks against LGBTQ+ youth several years ago, hate crimes on K-12 campuses have more than quadrupled in states with restrictive laws. Most significantly, in a study conducted by The Trevor Project, LGBTQ+ youth who have at least one accepting adult in their life were 40 % less likely to attempt suicide. Yet, almost half ( 46.1 % ) of LGBTQ+ youth, including over half ( 54.9 % ) of transgender and gender- expansive youth, continue to feel unsafe in at least one school setting.
