July 24, 2023
Please Follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, Gab TV, GETTR, Truth Social, Twitter
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) just issued a resolution to condemn the last year for alleged "anti-LGBTQ+" policies. Randi Weingarten, President of the AFT, took to Twitter (or is it "X") to promote the resolution, which was formally adopted on July 19, 2023.
What exactly did the AFT condemn?
First off, the AFT was angry with the US Supreme Court for protecting free speech in the case of 303 Creative v. Elenis, which involved a wedding announcement website designer whose Christian faith prevented her from supporting non-heterosexual marriage.
The AFT is also upset about proposed legislation to protect women in sports, to keep people who were born male from entering women's restrooms, to keep gender ideology out of schools, and to restrict and/or ban drag performances for minors. The union considers legislation like this to be part of an "extremist movement" that is seeking to destroy LGBTQ+ rights and the community at large.
The union further blames extremists for making it harder for AFT members to foster a safe and "affirming" learning environment for students. Presumably this is a knock at the parents who want to be informed if their child wants to change gender or go by a different name.
The controversial group accused of grooming children through its suicide helpline, The Trevor Project, was mentioned in a warning about significantly higher suicide rates experienced by transgender and non-binary students. The Centers for Disease Control indicated that 43% of trans students have been bullied on school property, and 29% have attempted suicide.
Because of these perceived issues, the AFT resolved to continue to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community by fighting for LGBTQ+ rights, including the right for people who were born male to use women's restrooms, for instance. The union also promised to financially support advocacy organizations, including but not limited to Pride at Work, PFLAG, GLSEN, The Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal and the Trevor Project.
You might recall that GLSEN has been in the spotlight this summer after its relationship with Target came to light. The Connecticut Centinal previously reviewed GLSEN's Educator resources, and found they contained radical gender ideology, pornographic books, and much more. One document even recommended the use of puberty blockers, which cause permanent, irreversible damage to children. Other documents recommended hiding student gender from parents, and backing biological boys playing in biological girls' sports so long as the boy identifies as a girl.
It looks like the AFT's agenda lines up with the agenda of the nations largest teachers union, the National Education Association.