Transgender Insurance for Students

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, October 11, 2013 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Good morning, Jim. Since “gender identity” was added to the state’s non-discrimination law, the Massachusetts Department of Education requires all schools to accept students’ preferred identity and let them choose which bathroom and locker room to use. While the law may not have required such drastic changes, it’s certainly been interpreted that way.

In August 2013 Rhode Island’s Brown University student health insurance began covering sex change operations for students that want them, although the campus Director of Insurance and Purchasing reported in February that sexual reassignment surgeries, hormone therapy and other services cost as much a $50,000.

The University of Iowa is the first public college to put a transgender check box alongside male and female check boxes on admission applications that include a new question: “Do you identify with the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) Community?” to register students’ sexual behaviors.The February 2013 conference for “20 Years of LGBT Progress,” at California-Riverside University celebrated the homosexual movement by officially endorsing alternate lifestyles. Most University of California (UC) campuses have LGBT centers. In fact, there are over 20 different LGBTQ organizations on the University of California Los Angeles campus, alone.

Founding director of a UC Davis LGBT Center is quoted on the UC Riverside conference website as saying: “Prior to the formal founding of the Cantu Queer Center at UC Santa Cruz in 1997, queer students were emerging from hostile high school environments onto our campus with few coordinated resources and no safe and accessible queer-centric space in which to heal and explore their sexualities and genders. Queer and questioning students received no consistent guidance from professional staff…. Transgender students, staff, and faculty paid for all their transition needs out-of-pocket…. The impact of our collective advocacy has been significant.”

A significant reason for such descent into amorality can be traced to the consistent pushing of God out of education and into the confines of churches. For example: On July 4th, a school principal banned the playing of “God Bless the U.S.A.,” claiming “it might offend other cultures!” On August 17th, Alcovy High School in Covington refused to take down a “GOD IS DEAD” poster, claiming its connection with the play “The Crucible.”

In my opinion, Arthur Miller’s play is no excuse for defending a “God is dead” poster. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.