Submitted by Karsten Vagner, March 31, Greenwich RTM member representing District 3, the opinion below is mine alone
On this Transgender Day of Visibility – a day dedicated to recognizing transgender people globally – I want to raise something that has been bothering me for some time.
Nationally, the GOP strategy of calling for “Parents’ Rights” has gotten louder and more widespread. What started as the Parental Rights in Education Bill in Florida – more colloquially known as the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill – has become a movement that has now reached the halls of Congress. The House of Representatives narrowly passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act last week. If you follow the RTC social media or remember the lawn signs from last fall’s local elections, you’ll note this strategy has also come to Greenwich.
As a parent, as an American, as a proud gay man, my view is that the first parent right that needs to be met is the right to have our kids come home from school every day still alive.
Instead of solving for this fundamental right, the GOP “Parents’ Rights” agenda opts to target transgender children and people who are LGBTQ+, among others. To make it worse, this agenda is purportedly in the name of protecting children. To any reasonable citizen, this approach is not common sense.
As our fall elections near, I hope my neighbors aren’t fooled by the “Parents’ Rights” agenda. If the GOP really wanted to empower parents, they would ensure the safety of our kids at school instead of bullying transgender people.
If the GOP really wanted to protect children, they would target military-style weapons instead of librarians. Parents deserve more than a mean-spirited agenda. We deserve a country free of violence in schools.