On Feb 20, a protest occurred on the square in downtown Springfield in opposition to a proposed bill put forward by Missouri Sen. Mike Moon.
Senate Bill 134 establishes the Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act, which has been called “the most extreme ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill in the United States” by bill opponents, the Springfield News-Leader reported in early February. “Don’t Say Gay” refers to the recently passed Florida law.
SB 134 would ban teachers from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity in the classroom, among other things. (Jump to the full text of the bill summary below.) Proponents of the bill say it protects vulnerable children and supports the rights of parents.
Unlike the recent bill down in Florida, which affected grades K-4, this bill expands to grades K-12. The only exception is that licensed mental health providers are able to discuss these things with their clients, but only if a written note is provided by the parents of the student giving their permission.
One of the protestors at the rally was Lucy Mayfield, a representative for the Party of Socialism and Liberation in Springfield. While hopeful that Moon’s bill will not pass, they expressed concerns over similar bills that could be brought to the table in the future.
“Missouri has about 50 pieces of legislation coming down the pipeline,” Mayfield said. “The likelihood of another bill like this passing is pretty likely, because Missouri itself has been gerrymandered so deeply by our legislators that they are not accountable to the people.”
If the bill were to become a law, Mayfield believes that more kids would become isolated and it could lead to an increase in homelessness and suicides if parents are not supportive of their kids' orientation and identity.
“Being homeless and camping on [state-owned] public property in Missouri is illegal, so that means more of them can be arrested and thrown in jail,” Mayfield said. “The amount of kids that commit suicide that are probably LGBTQ and never came out to anybody I think is likely.”
An onlooker at the protest who only gave his first name, Josh, traveled from Webster County to see what the message of the protest was. He said he did not disagree with anything they had to say and expressed confusion over the name of the bill and what it sets out to accomplish.
“So the name right there, I feel like the name alone just makes you think that it’s to protect the children from bullying. From one point of view, it looks like it’s preventing anybody who has those questions from being able to come out.”
Josh’s concerns were drawn to the section in the bill that mentions a parent of a minor can take civil action against a school that breaks the law.
“If something like that happens in our district where the school gets sued, it’s not the school that’s paying for it — it’s the citizens of that city because our taxes go directly to that school. That’s going to cause a lot of issues and that’s not right,” Josh said.
Josh said he believes people living in Missouri have an open mind for equality and that everyone is deserving of love
“This state is getting a little more woke to say, and a lot more people are coming around with equality no matter what. Regardless of anything, we need to show compassion and love to everyone across the board,” Josh said.
Senate Bill 134 Summary
This act establishes the “Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act”, which prohibits any school official at a public or charter school from encouraging a student under the age of eighteen years old to adopt a gender identity or sexual orientation. This prohibition shall not apply to certain course components of a school's curriculum.
The act additionally creates provisions to prohibit a school official from withholding information regarding a student's gender identity from the student's parent. A school official shall inform a student's parent within twenty-four hours if the student expresses confusion about their gender identity or requests to use personal pronouns that differ from their sex as registered by their parent during enrollment. A school official shall obtain parental consent before encouraging a student to wear certain items of clothing and before allowing a student to use a name other than the name provided by the parent when registering the student for school. Finally, a school official shall not encourage a student to pursue gender reassignment therapy or surgical procedures. A teacher who violates these provisions shall face charges of incompetence, immorality, and neglect of duty under the laws governing the discipline of holders of certificate of license to teach. A parent of a minor child may bring a civil action against a school district or public school that violates the provisions of the act, and the attorney general may bring a civil action against any school district or public school that violates the provisions of the act.
