Texas Republicans are trying to pass “Don’t Say Gay” copycat bills

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Texas Republicans have introduced two bills that would ban instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity in the state’s public schools.

Among the 35 anti-LGBTQ+ bills filed so far by Texas Republicans for the 2023 legislative session are two that closely mirror Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, popularly known as “Don’t Say Gay.”

H.B. 631, authored by state Rep. Steve Toth (R) would ban schools from teaching about sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through fifth grade, while Rep. Jared Patterson’s (R) H.B. 1155 extends the ban through eighth grade. Both bills ban instruction on sexuality and gender identity that is “not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate” at any grade level. Neither bill specifies how to define what is appropriate for various age groups, according to the Texas Tribune.

In a January 3 statement announcing H.B. 1155, Patterson characterized the bill as an “improved” version of Florida’s law, and used both the now familiar language of “parental rights” and misleading rhetoric about “sexualizing” children.

“The sexualization of our children must stop,” Patterson said. “Parents and taxpayers…

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