GLAAD, which has pushed for greater acceptance for LGBTQ people for more than three decades, wasn’t buying it. “This vile and false rhetoric has been used against LGBTQ people for decades now it’s being used to smear anyone who supports our community and any political opponent,” a GLAAD spokesperson told The Hill.Ĭharles Moran, president of the Log Cabin Republicans, a group representing LGBTQ conservatives and straight allies that pushes for greater inclusivity in the GOP, told the Post he believes critics are overreaching on the Florida bill, which he does not oppose. “There are some people who are turning this into an attempt to claw back progress on LGBT issues,” Moran said. This is a parental rights thing.”īut he noted that other states have bills on this topic that go further and “some of them are truly dangerous.” I’m consistently reminding everyone: This is not a gay rights thing. Moran noted that he helped kill an amendment to the Florida bill that would have required teachers to report when students expressed questions about their gender identity or sexual orientation. The grooming controversy may have hit a watershed moment last week, when Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a Democrat, publicly called out a Republican colleague for accusing her of seeking to groom children - in a fundraising message. “I know that hate will only win if people like me stand by and let it happen,” McMorrow said on the Senate floor. McMorrow gave some of her personal background and said, “I’m a straight, white, Christian, married, suburban mom.” A video of the speech quickly went viral. “You can’t claim that you’re targeting marginalized kids in the name of ‘parental rights’ if another parent is standing up and saying no. “We cannot let hateful people tell you otherwise to scapegoat and deflect from the fact that they’re not doing anything to fix the real issues that impact people’s lives.” “People who are different are not the reason our roads are in bad shape after decades of disinvestment, or health care costs are too high, or teachers are leaving the profession.