(Video: Fox News)
Bret Baier and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) had a heated exchange over Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, deceptively dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law as Murphy lamented over what he perceives as a “hateful, divisive turn” taken by the Republican Party.
Murphy joined Baier on “Fox News Sunday” to react to President Biden’s referral to “the MAGA crowd” as “the most extreme political organization that’s existed in American history.”
“It has echoes of categorizing a whole bunch of people a certain way,” Baier noted of the president’s comment.
“I am very concerned about the very quick, hateful, divisive turn the Republican Party has taken,” replied Murphy, who then pointed to the Florida law, which prohibits the discussion of sexual and gender identities in K-3 classrooms.
“This effort in Florida to sort of target gay kids in schools,” said Murphy, “I just think it’s mean-spirited, and something that I had not seen from the Republican Party when I first started out in politics 20 years ago.”
“I’m going to interrupt you,” Baier interjected. “To target gay kids in schools? The bill is talking about not talking about sexual identity in K through third grade. That’s not targeting gay kids.”
“Yes, it is,” Murphy insisted. “It absolutely is. It is sending a message to these kids that they are not worthy, that they should be ashamed of their identification.”
Florida middle school teacher booted after discussing her ‘pansexual identity’ with students https://t.co/pKA4w0qEV1
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) May 5, 2022
“You talk to kindergartners about sexual identity?” Baier asked.
Murphy ignored the question and instead discussed the consequences of bullying.
“Half the people considered suicide because of the effort to bully them for their identity by adults in this country,” Murphy stated. “I think there is a message sent to these kids when you suggest a conversation about their identity is somehow threatening kids and our children.”
Baier repeated his question.
“Senator, do you talk to your kindergartner about sexual identity?” Baier pressed. “You don’t talk about the birds and the bees, let alone the birds and the birds at that age.”
Again Murphy failed to acknowledge the question and instead cited a proposed amendment from Democrats to the controversial bill that would agree to a ban on “sex education” in early grades — which is not the same thing, as evidenced by the recent dismissal of a Florida art teacher after she discussed her pansexual identity while the class drew pictures.
But to Murphy, the rejection of the Democrats’ proposal was yet another example of Republicans’ unreasonable stance on the subject.
It failed, said Murphy, “because this wasn’t about trying to protect children from a discussion about sex. This was an effort to specifically ban a conversation about topics related to sexual identity.”
Exactly!
And, as Baier pointed out, “half the country identified with at least part of that movement, the policies of the Make America Great Again movement.”
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