A state senator has suggested putting Space Camp on a bill that is currently being considered by the Alabama House that would outlaw sexual orientation and gender identity in public universities.
Alabama Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, announced he planned to increase the limitation to the costs.
Legislation that was passed in 2022 by Alabama expands on from that passed in Florida and is now known as “Don’t Say Gay.” In Alabama, the present law forbids discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in K-5 schools.
This year’s costs would increase the restrictions through the 12th grade.
In a statement made earlier this year, Butler stated that his bill is intended to stop Alabama children from being taught about LGBTQ people.
Due to Butler’s suggestion of adding Space Camp, reviewers had voiced opposition to the development.
“I think that what we’ve been trying to do here in the state is trying to make certain that we don’t make any community feel ostracized or not being loved,” Rep. Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, said earlier this month.
“This bill earnestly prevents gay young people from receiving representation in their schools, which would promote self-assurance and identity. It’s how I got to where I am today,” Cecil Pinkston, a post-medical main at UAB, said during a public comment time.
Butler has stated that the act is required to “purify the institutions.”
“Please know that we have a plan to deal with the Space Camp issue and that we will do so the following week,” Butler wrote on Twitter.
“We will have an amendment adding Space Camp and expanding our existing K-5 physical identity and sexual orientation restrictions to K-12,” according to HB 130. This costs may be subject to the next week’s Education Policy vote.
In a longer speech, Butler stated that “many of us think it is inappropriate to discuss this subject in any level.”
“Those problems may become discussed between children and their parents or with people and their priests, not in a classroom,” he said. “Schools are for learning reading, writing, and arithmetic, not for empowering children with ideas that run counter to basic values. We are taught to love one another, and we undoubtedly want everyone to work, but we must make sure to choose carefully when hiring staff to oversee and instruct our kids.
Butler continued, “If there is no such teaching or discussion taking place at this time, then no harm and no foul. We basically want our children to have the best education possible, as well as a secure learning environment.”
According to Tris Emmy Wilson, the organizer of the Alabama Trans Rights Action Coalition, Butler said in an email to AL.com that “it does not run [against] fundamental values” by referring to the mere presence of gay and transgender people.
Wilson wrote that “he also rejects a crucial role of the public education program: teaching kids how to behave appropriately around people who are distinct from themselves.”
Wilson added that changing the bill is “a waste of time because no one at Space Camp is taught gender and gender identity.”
“If the act is passed, it will only serve as a means for more abuse campaigns against illiterate gay and transgender Space Camp employees, as we are currently seeing. Right-wing organizations would be less likely to baselessly accuse these staff of being ‘indoctrinated’ just by having a career and living as themselves.”
There were unsuccessful initial attempts to reach Space Camp for opinion. When contacted by AL.com on Monday, the staff at the center of the disagreement declined to comment.
The individual has not been accused or charged with any crime. The Alabama Space and Rocket Center said in a statement on Monday afternoon that it adheres to federal hiring standards and doesn’t discriminate against people of color.
“The notion that gay people are out to ’empower,’ ‘groom,’ or ‘recruit’ children is a biased falsehood that dates back decades in America and has led to honest gay people losing their lives and livelihoods,” ALTRAC said.
After a parent complained on Twitter about the female identification of one of the U.S. Space and Rocket Center people, many people of Alabama’s congressional committee posted comments on X.
Rep. Dale Strong called for the fire of the individual.
According to Strong, “I urge the Center to quickly remove this person and launch a safety review to take into account the potential harm and harm they may have inadvertently caused children.”
Some have spoken out against such remarks.
“It is more energy poured on the lights of moral panic gripping the right wing of American political conversation, based only in fear and misunderstanding,” ALTRAC’s statement read.
“No one should ever be targeted because of who they are,” Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, posted on social media. His remarks came shortly after the discussion broke out, but they did not specifically mention Space Camp.
“The Equal Protection Clause of the (U.S.) Constitution and the Civil Rights Act require, and common decency demands, that we uphold the civil rights of all people regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or
