A Wisconsin State Rep. demonstrated her own lack of knowledge of LGBTQ history yesterday in a debate about whether parents can withdraw their kids from school LGBTQ-related lessons.
Republican lawmakers this week introduced legislation (AB 562). It seeks to allow parents to remove their children from lessons that touch upon sexuality or gender.
One of the bill’s authors is Republican Rep. Donna Rozar, (R-Marshfield). She also wants schools to notify parents in advance if they’re going to talk about these subjects.
Related: Harvey Milk Day and San Francisco’s monuments to an LGBTQ icon
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The bill was introduced Wednesday and a public hearing took place in the Assembly Education Committee at the state Capitol yesterday.
Rozar was among those to speak.
“I believe that there are very subtle things that occur in public and charter schools that tend to normalize behaviors that are in conflict with some students’ families’ belief systems,” she said.
“Students are exposed to things maybe at a very young age in an attempt to undermine a family value belief system that is detrimental to what parents and guardians are trying to teach their children. It’s those subtleties that need to be more transparent.”
Among those to question Rozar was Democratic Rep. Sondy Pope of Cross Plains. She asked if Rozar wanted schools to notify parents if they intended to talk about Harvey Milk.
Milk, the famed gay, San Francisco council member, was assassinated in 1978. He has subsequently been featured on a US postage stamp, had a navy boat named after him, and been the subject of an Oscar-winning biopic, among other memorials.
Related: SF Gay Men’s Chorus gather for first time in 15 months to mark Harvey Milk Day
“I’m not familiar… is that a real person?” responded Rozar with an awkward laugh. “I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with him.”
Watch the exchange below.
Donna Rozar, Wisconsin Assembly member and author of a homophobic education bill, thinks Harvey Milk is a fictional character pic.twitter.com/ORQltgbEox
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 16, 2021
Opponents of the legislation spoke out in favor of all children being taught about sexuality.
“I came from a family with very, very conservative beliefs. I did not know that being gay was an option for me, I didn’t know it wasn’t just this evil cabal of people scheming to take down the world because that’s what my parents told me,” Madeline Doon of Sun Prairie said, reports Milwaukee Journal.
“It’s just … really important that kids get this information. It causes a lot of trauma that I’m still working through. Trying to suppress these voices really hurts real people. It’s probably going to affect me for the rest of my life.”
Some GOP supporters of the bill said it would still allow LGBTQ content to be taught, but would just allow parents the choice to remove their children if they desired.
The Department of Public Instruction registered against the bill but did not testify. However, in a statement, State Superintendent Jill Underly said, “Make no mistake, they know exactly what they are doing: using our children as pawns in a culture war.
“They will not win in the long term, but they will hurt our students, our educators, and our democratic principles in the process. I call on the leaders of the legislature to slow down and to instead prioritize the safety and in-person education of our children.”
A spokesperson for Gov. Tony Evers (D) told Milwaukee Journal he will not sign the bill if it is passed.
MisterMarcus
I don’t comment much but this really got my gay flag in an uproar.
Better question is who is Donna Rozar? Never heard of her. Next.
HenryHawke
Donna Rozar is an example of the best and brightest the RepubliCONS. have to offer. It’s this kind of ignorance that makes them so dangerous.
Mister P
While they are at it, they should not teach kids about war, rape, murder or anything deemed to be bad. Then we can have a whole generation of blissful and ignorant people.
What is wrong with these people. LGBT and gender issues exist whether they are taught or not.
DCFarmboy
“Among those to question Rozar was Democratic Rep. Sondy Pope of Cross Plains. She asked if Rozar wanted schools to notify parents if they intended to talk about Harvey Milk.”
Cross Plains, Wisconsin is a lovely little rural community. I am so glad they have Rep. Pope representing them.
Tacapollo
Don’t like what the schools are teaching your children to bring them out of the dark ages? Home school!
muscl954
“I believe that there are very subtle things that occur in public and charter schools that tend to normalize behaviors that are in conflict with some students’ families’ belief systems,” she said.
“Students are exposed to things maybe at a very young age in an attempt to undermine a family value belief system that is detrimental to what parents and guardians are trying to teach their children. It’s those subtleties that need to be more transparent.”
What she’s saying is that they (the parents) don’t want to allow schools to broaden a child’s perspective of the world. They (the parents) don’t want their children to think differently than they do. They (the parents) don’t want their bigoted, narrow-minded viewpoints to be challenged. School is there to learn, not confirm.
HenryHawke
According to the late Phyllis Schlafly the job of schools is not teach children HOW to think but WHAT to think.
revjimbrooking
Donna Rozar must be proud of her third grade education!! What a disgrace!
Juanito malo
I agree
barryaksarben
Obviously , this woman wouldnt know Harvey or Malcom X or Ceaser Chaves because she only learned white straight people are all that matters and THAT is the problem in a nutshell. How they will fight to deny the other in the world. And the fact that she laughed or giggled at her own ignorance is disgusting.
Juanito malo
Of course it should be taught…Does she have any idea of the suicide rate of LGBTQ people who cannot accept who they are? Sexuality is NOT a choice.
HenryHawke
According to the far right wing and religionists, homosexually is a choice that can be “cured” by the discredited practice of reparative therapy. The problem is there are no facts that will disuade these people from their beliefs. Example: The anti-vaxers going ballistic when one of their own says that what lies they’ve been spoon fed are wrong and everyone should be vaccinated against Covid-19.
scrough
Doesn’t know? Sounds like she’s a product of her own educational system. Perhaps she can convince her own parents to allow her to attend on the days when these topics are taught.
HenryHawke
Perhaps the voters of Wisconsin will wake up and throw Donna Rozar and the rest of her ilk at the local, state, and federal levels out of office once and for all. But alas, I’m afraid that’s just a fairytale. (Pun intended.)
Halfnhalf
She proved that teaching about gay history is needed. I mean, what planet was she living on? It’s really difficult to understand how a person can stay so ignorant. How could people put someone like this in any office. I think everyone running for office anywhere in America should have to pass a general knowledge test and have an IQ over 100. I think the republican party wants idiots and wants everyone to be ignorant.
miller2900
…. the Republican Party and its followers in an effort to maintain control of the masses are desperately trying to continue the dumbing down of the general population via the Public School system like they have been for decades. I graduated from high school in 1975…. yes, I’m in grandparent territory now, and I’m still learning the real truths of the BS I was taught. Case in point I only discovered the real truths about Custer’s so called last stand a few years ago. There are countless other lies I had to rediscover the truth about. Thankfully in my early twenties I moved to a large city on the West Coast from a small mid-west town. When I see women (and men) around my age standing behind and supporting the likes of Trump and especially the nut job that thankfully didn’t end up replacing the California Governor, I realize stupidity sticks to some people for life. The willful ignorance… let’s call it by the name will all know….”Stupidity” that so many are currently exhibiting regarding getting vaccinated is beyond my comprehension. Especially when it involves protecting children and/or comes from those in the medical field and/or have had many previous “mandated” vaccinations themselves years ago. As my 80-something mother says “the level of stupidity probably has always been around us but the monster that last occupied the White House gave all the stupid people permission to fully expose themselves.
HenryHawke
How could people be so ignorant? There were 63 million of them who voted Republicon in 2016. A fine example of the education system in America.
dhmonarch89
Fine- schools should notify parents when a teacher is menstruating- since the Bible says that any woman who appears in public during this time should be stoned to death. Since their ‘family beliefs’ all stem from the Bible on homosexuality- we should apply it across the broad! You better f’ing tell me when a teacher eats shell fish, AND, I should be allowed to withdraw my child from a class where the teacher is wearing clothes with mixed fabrics.
Jer
In an upper high school discussion style class, there’s no predicting when any given topic will arise. Maybe the parent needs to sit in on any class where this sort of danger lurks, and whisk her little darling out as any subject emerges which could touch on S-E-C-K-S!
Prowelsh56
I do know some very smart people up there – this is not one of them. Throw away drivel. AND this woman is in the educaitonal field?
Fahd
I don’t think the legislature should be telling educators what to teach in school anymore than I think they should be telling doctors how to treat medical conditions. With very few exceptions (this isn’t one of them), children should be exposed to the regular public school curriculum. Home schooling is well supported, especially with the internet, in most any place. Parents who want to avoid their children being exposed to themes like sexuality or anything else but their own point-of-view need to rely on home schooling or as the Catholics always have done their own parochial schools. It seems the Evangelicals/Protestants are too cheap to fund their own schools and instead want to take over the secular public schools and force their own views on everyone else.
Kangol2
Evangelicals do fund their own schools but public schools nevertheless educate the vast majority of American children. The same is true with public community colleges, 4-year colleges and universities. No matter how many private institutions exist, they cannot compete with the sheer size and scope of public institutions, which is why Q-onservatives are steadily trying to dumb down and undermine public education at all levels. The other thing to remember is that the US becoming more secular, not less, so these talibangelicals are increasingly out of step.
nitejonboy
Living in Wisconsin, bet the dumb twat thought Harvey Milk was a dairy company mascot.
GayVeteranOfcr
As in many other things, parents are not the most knowledgeable source of information needed by children. This is specially true for matters of sexuality, gender fluidity, sexual orientation, morality (yes, that also).
Florida Gov DeSantis says parents supersede CDC and expert epidemiologists when it comes to whether or not their children wear masks to school.
Ignorant people are the most dangerous to themselves and to others.
Parent who owns pistol puts it on top of a six foot tall bookcase, thinking it’s safe there from his toddler boy. The boy climbs that bookcase, retrieves the loaded pistol, and shoots his father dead. The parent was obviously not the most knowledgeable person in this instance. Many parents don’t take steps to protect people, such as having their children wear masks to school. In Florida, children brought virus home to parents, who got infected and who died, leaving five orphaned children. Unmasked children whose parents spurned wearing masks because Gov DeSantis said wearing masks was the choice of parents and not of schools, spread the pandemic around, killing other children, parents, friends, grandparents. As many Americans have died in Florida from the pandemic as were killed in the Vietnam War, but Gov DeSantis thinks this is fine. He’s not responsible and he won’t let anyone else, other than the parents, decide to mask children, so school teachers are dying at a high rate. Trump Sr said: “I’m not responsible.” when a reporter asked him who would lead in the fight against pandemic Covid-19.
[email protected]
Obviously this woman has never seen a penis and doesn’t want anyone else to either.
nitejonboy
She’s probably afraid of them.
Joshooeerr
The best response to this ignorance is: this information could be the difference between whether your gay or trans kid commits suicide or not. Then just roll out the statistics and the stories about gay or trans kids who have grown up in religious / conservative families. Ignorance kills. And these people who are determined to stay stupid and keep others stupid are harbingers of death, trauma and depression.
StopSayingDumbShite
The big problem is that ignorant people like that often don’t care if their queer kids die. To them, being dead is preferable to being gay/trans/etc. There is literally no stopping them by socially acceptable means.
Consider This
Sure. Let’s not inform kids about sex. Let them discover it while they are involved in sexual activity.
Real smart.
Mack
Why do you think the highest teen pregnancy rates are in the Red states? They don’t want to teach sex ed. Mostly they teach the girls to place a dime between their legs and press.
Georgeiv2
surly someone on her staff could have googled it for her if she is so uninformed to know the answer
smudge
WOW another uninformed/uneducated politician. Why does this country continue to vote them into positions of power?
Seth
It’s always adorable when people who are part of an organization that invented indoctrination claim others are going to influence their kids.
wikidBSTN
EXCELLENT point.
trojanboy
Live in ignorance, die in despair.
StopSayingDumbShite
Here’s hoping…..
wikidBSTN
Well, if they taught about LGBTQ people and such in school years ago, Rep Rozr would have been taught who Harvey Milk was.
I wonder if racists can be notified when the school is going to teach children that black people are humans too who deserve equal rights under the law and it was wrong to have enslaved them?
Will a notice go out so those who object to Jews or Muslims or Hindus being ‘normalized” when these groups are discussed in history class or a class on world religions?