anti-discrimination laws – Worldwide Organization for Women

This year WOW was actively engaged in the Utah Legislature fighting to protect religious libertites, parental rights, family, and rights of conscience. There were a lot of bills and resolutions this session that are worth talking about.

The biggest topic on Utah capitol hill for the past few years has been what to do about the anti-discrimination bills that keep pushing language that would not protect religious liberties. WOW has fought dilligently for the past three years to protect religious liberties.

SB99, SB100, HB322, SB297 and SB296 were a handful of the bills that asked for religious liberties or anti-discrimination legislation or both. Of these bills SB296 and SB297 passed. This last bill was a balanced bill calling for anti-discrimination in housing and employment, but also calling for protection of religious liberties.

During this legislative session the LDS church spoke out in favor of SB296 and SB297undoubtably making a positive influence on their passing. The ACLU opposed these bills. WOW was very disappointed that HB322 did not pass as it was a very good bill for protecting religious liberties.

There was an exciting bill stating that parents must opt their children into sex ed. classes now. This is a great precaution to take to protect the consciences of children and religious freedoms as well as parental rights.

HB48 passed. This bill prevents some uses of powdered alcohol. This is good news.

WOW was opposed to HB391 the death with diginity (assisted suicide) bill. Luckily this bill did not pass.

WOW was opposed to HB134 which was a homeschool tax credit bill. We felt that this bill would potentially lead to regulation of homeschooling families in the future leading to possible violations of parent rights, and it is not a fair bill to other families who don’t have children in public schools and won’t get credits. This bill did not pass.

SB175 unfortunately passed. It was a bill designed to create a school safety help line for children. This hotline will be promoted to children. The calls will be taken by unknown people at the University of Utah and parents will not be told if their child calls the number. We have not been able to determine what kinds of advice or services can be offered by the unknown people at the college. We see this bill as a very possible violation of conscience and a definate violation of parental rights to help their own children. We felt it would be better to adopt a plan to teach children to talk more with their parents and teachers instead of take more tax money to refer children to strangers whose morals are not known.

These were some of the big bills we watched and chimed in on. But, there are always some kind of ridiculous bills like this one. Did you know that in Utah code it says it is against the law to ride a bicycle with no hands? Some things are not meant to be made into laws.

It is important that we all stay as informed as possible so that we can stand up for the principles and values we hold dear.

Where Have the Adults Gone? An Unfortunate, but True Story

A friend recently told me of her niece’s experience as a fourth grade public school teacher. The name has been changed. Paul is her student. One day mother showed up to the classroom with Paul, and explained that Paul would now be called Paula, and would be referred to with feminine pronouns. The alarmed teacher went straight to the administration, and the wise decision was made not to meet the mother’s request. The mother had the ACLU brought in and Paul is now referred to as Paula with feminine pronouns at the school, and he now uses the girl’s restroom.

Being an advocate for children, a former public California school teacher and someone who has worked with hundreds of children, this story struck hard at my conscience and heart. I asked where are the responsible adults in this child’s life? For Paul and all the future Pauls’ benefit, this story needs to be told and logically sorted through.

Foremost, Paul’s story illustrates the miserable failing of the adults to protect and correct. Paul’s mother demanded that a lie about her son’s sex be perpetuated by the school, against scientific fact and with legal force, rather than to accept the basic order of nature and to teach and have that order reinforced to her son. The truth is God and nature determine the anatomy of a person, and anatomy is what defines gender. Even if an individual doesn’t believe God, it remains basic scientific fact that if all is in proper working order, a female will have the all the physical parts necessary to bear and nourish children, and a male will produce the seed for life to begin. Truth is often revealed in purpose. It is biologically impossible to change sex. Denying Paul instruction of this first reality is a gross failing of the parent.

This brings into the situation, the failing of many adults in the field of medicine, whose false assumptions have served to undermine the parental role and mental health of children. Recent laws passed in Massachusetts, California and New Jersey bar psychiatrists from helping minors acquire a perception of gender that aligns with their anatomical reality, even with parental permission. A Vanderbuilt University/Portman Clinic study showed that 70-80% of children with transgender feeling, spontaneously lose those feelings. Will those feelings spontaneously disappear in the child if they are continually reinforced by the adults and institutions in their life?

It also appears classroom instruction could be subject to the censoring of basic observable and proven scientific fact. Is this teacher now banned from instruction on this concept? This is not about sex- ed, but the concept of reproduction as a matter of reality found throughout the plant and animal kingdoms. This would be an utter failing of our education system if this is the case.

Leaving Paul aside for a moment, let’s look at potential effects on all the other children in Paul’s classroom. They are now victims of legal coercion against their own conscience, along with the teacher. They will feel the adults at this institution forcing a lie upon them. They will witness their teacher become the enforcer of the lie (as coerced by the State against her conscience), while both children and teacher know Paul is a boy. This leaves many important questions to be asked. Not if, but how will the conscience and personal identity be affected? Will the children still feel the lie in six months or will they eventually accept this alter reality as the norm? Does this teach children to cower to and enable delusion in others? Does this mean they will more readily accept lies from adults in the future? Will this influence some to accept lies about themselves? Children are so impressionable and naturally look to adults for truth, protection and direction. What is this teaching them about adults? What is this teaching the children about law? Is this how trust and confidence is built between adult and child? Teacher and student? Individual and State? For all the children, this is an utter failing of many adults running our legal system and the direction that anti-discrimination laws lead to for minors, which in the end are not humane at all.

Paul Mchugh, former Psychiatrist in Chief at John Hopkins hospital could be the adult hero for these children. In a Wall Street article, Transgender Surgery Isn’t the Solution, he summarizes the true nature of this clinical condition-it is a clinical condition in the same category as anorexia and bulimia. His is a scientific voice we can raise as responsible adults advocating for children. The link to his article is:

https://online.wsj.com/articles/paul-mchugh-transgender-surgery-isnt-the-solution-1402615120

A Year To Remember For The Utah Legislature!

Where Have the Adults Gone? A True, But Unfortunate Story