FCKH8 goes after Stacey Campfield’s gay suicide promotion bill
Those wonderful people at FCKH8 are fighting hard against Senator Campfields efforts to make school even harder for LGBTQIA folk.
FCKH8.com: The “Teachers Can’t Talk About Homos” Law from FCKH8.com on Vimeo.
If you want some more insight into the mindset of the Senator who came up with this bill…. here’s his response to an e-mail I sent him.
While I appreciate your passion, I still feel it is a parents responsibility to
decide when a child is ready to grasp such a complex issue as sexuality and what
they want to tell the child about that complex subject. All children developed
mentally at different rates. I do not feel a teacher with an agenda (Be it pro
or con) is the appropriate person to decide for the entire class just because
they may think one way or another on an issue and want to espouse it. I doubt
you would want a teacher who said homosexuality is evil, dirty and wrong because
they felt it was appropriate and that is what they thought the children needed
to hear. We are falling behind the rest of the world in math and science amongst
other things. This will be just one less issue they have to worry about.
Yours in service,
Sen. Stacey Campfield
He’s obviously homophobic, and thinks that stopping talking about LGBTQIA issues will prevent them coming out, but as I said before, this bill will increase the likelyhood that LGBTQIA teens will attempt suicide due to one of their routes of support being ripped away.
Are Tennessee lawmakers looking at the LGBTQIA suicide rate, and saying its not enough?
Thats what the bill coming from Tennessee senator Stacey Campfield seems to be saying. What the bill says is that teachers upto and including the 8th grade are forbidden from
The man who is calling for more gay suicides
mentioning or acknowledging LGBTQIA issues within school no matter how innocuous. The bill has the label of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, because effectively thats what it means.
Apparently this law has been the pet project of Senator Campfield for several years, and now its heading towards the state senate floor, and we’ve got ask what motivates him. I’m sure will ascribe misguided motives to him, and maybe thats what’s going on, but this bill seems purpose built to increase the rate of suicide in LGBTQIA youth.
Not only will this prevent teachers from acting to stop LGBTQIA-phobic bullying, it prevents them from offering any support to LGBTQIA youth who are beginning to come to terms with themselves. While California is pushing forward with SB48 in an effort to end LGBTQIA-phobia and intolerance, Tenesse seems to be trying to remove any ability from the schools to help vulnerable youth.
Now I’m sure that this comes from some idea about if you don’t mention “Gay” people wont be gay… but it comes from bigotry and ignorance.
This bill is going to increase the rate of suicides, not maybe, not possibly, not even probably, this is removing from LGBTQIA youth one of the most important sources of support and help. Senator Campfield even wants teachers investigated just to make sure that teachers do not offer said support.
This is about shoving us back in to the closet and hoping we go away… well we aren’t, and if this bill passes, the legislature of the state of Tennessee will have the blood of vulnerable youth on their hands.
If you are in Tennessee call your state senator, your representative, and the governor’s office, to protest.
Even if you aren’t in Tennessee call Senator Campfield’s office on (615)-741-1766 and remind him of the lives he is putting at risk.