Republians at all levels of office continue to push anti-queer rhetoric that claims young people are being “indoctrinated” into identifying as transgender, or more broadly as LGBTQ+. As we know here at Daily Kos, no one is being indoctrinated, unless we want to talk about the result of folks watching a ton of Fox News. People—including young people—have always been queer. They just haven’t always been able to be out and live openly without risking their livelihood, community, and physical safety. That’s still a risk, frankly, and Republicans are of course campaigning on hate and discrimination in order to win votes from people who wish LGBTQ+ people would just go back into the closet and be quiet.
Conservatives have a pretty established playbook at this point: go after trans girls when it comes to sports, go after trans youth (and sometimes trans adults) when it comes to health care, go after all trans folks when it comes to bathrooms, and, oh yeah, go after books by and about queer people. Especially if they’re graphic novels or picture books. Include words like “indoctrination,” “inappropriate,” “obscene,” and “pornographic,” and you’re set.
A recent example of this playing out in real time comes out of Maryland, where gubernatorial candidate (and far-right Trump lackey) Dan Cox pledged to stop “transgender indoctrination in kindergarten” and make sure parents know their kids receive counseling. Huh? Exactly.
RELATED: Jon Stewart shows cis people exactly how to debunk Republican anti-trans hysteria in six minutes
On Wednesday, Cox debated Democrat Wes Moore at Morgan State University in Baltimore, where reporter Pamela Wood of the Baltimore Banner asked what the candidates thought about the support and respect LGBTQ+ students receive at public schools, as covered by the Los Angeles Blade. For reference, the debate on Oct. 12 was the only scheduled televised debate so far. Candidates are seeking the seat currently held by Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
“We know that young people who identify as LGBTQ face a lot of challenges,” Wood (correctly) began. “Do you believe these children are being adequately supported in our public schools, and are public schools doing a good enough job educating the whole student body about LGBTQ issues?”
Cox opened by saying no, we’re not doing “enough”—but not for the right reason. He insists that “too many times” parents are left out of decisions.
“I fought against a bill that would literally allow 12-year-olds to receive counseling without their parents even knowing,” he added. “That’s wrong. We need to make sure parents are involved.” Imagine if young people had even an ounce of privacy? But Cox doesn’t stop there.
“What I will do also is ensure that the indoctrination stops,” Cox continued. “We cannot have transgender indoctrination in kindergarten. That’s preposterous.” It is preposterous, Dan. And that’s because it isn’t happening!
Cox alleged Moore “supports” such indoctrination before saying he wants to get back to “world-class learning,” which apparently includes getting rid of Gender Queer: A Memoir, a book written and illustrated by nonbinary author Maia Kobabe that conservatives absolutely loathe. Cox said the book is so “disgusting” it includes things that can’t be shown on TV. Not sure what he’s talking about there, given that the book has been celebrated by librarians and educators for its smart and age-appropriate discussions of gender and sexuality, but okay.
This isn’t the first time Cox has made his anti-LGBTQ+ platform known. For example, just last year he tried to amend an education bill to limit the alleged “classroom indoctrination” he is obsessed with. He also, unsurprisingly, wants to stop trans girls from participating in girls' sports teams.
On the bright side, Moore exemplified grace, respect, and intelligence when it came to answering the question. He referenced his two children and said he wants them to feel “seen” and “heard” and simply wants the same for every young person. He also gave the sobering statistics of LGBTQ+ youth homelessness in the state, as well as suicide rates among trans folks.
You can watch the full debate here courtesy of C-SPAN.
Here’s one clip from the debate.
And here’s another clip with some local coverage.