'Don't Say Gay' misunderstood

HURON — A local lawmaker who fears teachers are indoctrinating young students won't say where that's happening or which teachers are doing it. Instead, state Rep. D.J. Swearingen claims that a proposed law he and other Republicans in Columbus are supporting that would regulate what all teachers can say in classrooms is being misrepresented. Swearingen, R-Huron, has refused for weeks to answer questions about his support for House Bill 327, known as the "Divisive Concepts Act" and House Bill 616, which critics have called Ohio's "Don't Say Gay" bill. Earlier this month he said he was supporting the legislation to fight "radical indoctrination" of students. He refused, however, to say what students were being indoctrinated to believe, who was indoctrinating them or at which school districts this was happening. He also has refused to say if any parents have brought complaints to him that their children were being indoctrinated by teachers. But late Tuesday he sent a short, non-responsive reply to a series of questions the Register sent him more recently, that claimed the newspaper was misrepresenting "a bill that prohibits teaching inherently racist concepts or sexual curricula and gender ideology in kindergarten through third grade." He did not specify what about the bill is being misrepresented, although he previously suggested there were instances of teachers educating students on critical race theory and sexuality that were "well-documented in a number of public domains." Subsequent emails sent to Swearingen in response to that suggestion, asking him to cite those specific instances, were not answered. In an email Wednesday, he also suggested that teachers want young children to learn about human sexuality. "Maybe you could ask opponents of the bill why kindergartners should learn sexual curricula? Why is that a good thing?" he asked. Swearingen did not cite any examples of school districts in Erie or Ottawa counties, or anywhere in the state, that have courses for kindergartners to teach them about sex or sexuality. Birds of a feather He and other lawmakers supporting the bills haven't cited any examples in which that was happening. The Register contacted 11 lawmakers, sending them questions after educators, college professors, activists and others complained that the legislation they are supporting is bigoted, homophobic and exploitative. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, on a recent trip to Sandusky also suggested the legislation was "anti-business" and could keep progressive companies from locating in Ohio in the future because of the repressive nature of these proposals. Critics contend Swearingen and other Republican lawmakers were provided the language for HB 327 and HB 616 by right-wing political groups that hope to politicize the issue of LGBTQ+ rights nationwide and build on their perceived electoral successes last year by exploiting what's known as critical race theory, a college-level course that isn't taught in K-12 grades at all. They also contend that if approved, the legislation would likely lead to some books being banned from schools, although lawmakers supporting HB 327 and HB 616 won't say which books would be removed from school libraries or what criteria would be used for deciding which books to ban. Studies show that when books get banned, the majority are written by authors who are members of minority or marginalized communities. Books by acclaimed poet Maya Angelou and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison have landed on banned books lists in the past. What's in a name? Like Swearingen, state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, also objected to how critics of the bill have described it and how news media companies have reported about HB 327 and HB 616. "I continue to object to the 'Don't Say Gay' moniker placed on these bills," Click said. "I believe that that title is merely for sensationalistic and divisive purposes." Schools should not be providing any information to students about human sexuality, according to Click, who in addition to being a lawmaker is a pastor at a church in Sandusky County. "I don't want educators talking about any type of sex with these children," he told the Register. "I strongly object to schools taking the place of parents. Their role is reading, writing and arithmetic, not the birds and the bees, especially in these early elementary grades." Click, like Swearingen, said he too feared radical indoctrination of students but did not cite any specific incidents in any school districts in which it was happening or say if any parents had brought complaints to him that their children were being indoctrinated. Swearingen called it "commonsense legislation." He said many people across Ohio support it and don't share the concerns critics have raised about censorship, bigotry and homophobia. He's refused to say which books would be banned if the legislation is approved, if any, or if he supports banning books. Author Toni Morrison, who was born and raised in Lorain, is the most acclaimed author in the state's history. Her book "The Bluest Eye" is about the experiences of a Black girl growing up in Ohio. Swearingen and other lawmakers supporting HB 327 and HB 616 refused to say if they would support banning her books from schools. Lawmakers as censors A Bowling Green State University professor who teaches critical race theory to graduate students told the Ohio Capital Journal recently that what the bills are really about is stopping anti-racist activities, and tempering free expression around racial dynamics, discrimination and bias in America. "The purpose of actually defining what these supposedly divisive comments are, is to create a chilling atmosphere where teachers and university instructors self-censor and self-regulate out of fear of crossing these very fuzzy lines that are created in the legislation," said Timothy Messer-Kruse, a grad-student level history professor at BGSU. The Register wrote to Swearingen and Click, and also sent questions to Reps. Diane Grendell, R-Chesterland, and representatives Dick Stein, R-Norwalk, Jon Cross, R-Kenton, Riordan McClain, R-Upper Sandusky, Jean Schmidt, R-Miami Township, Mike Loychik, R- Bazetta, Sarah Fowler, R-Ashtabula, Cupp, R-Lima and State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green. None of the lawmakers responded — or objected to — the questions. But they refused to answer them, or say which books they want banned, if any. They all also refused to provide any examples of radical indoctrination. They also refused to say if there is any minority or LGBTQ+ support for the legislation.