War on Traditional Morality goes “Full Speed Ahead!”

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, January 15, 2016 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Today ends the first week of this legislative session that convened with a back-breaking workload of bills from last session. It wouldn’t be so bad if the bills were about issues that don’t mean much, whether they pass or fail. But, that’s not the case!

Schools have become a major battlefield where the vicious war on morality is waged and is being intensified through the legislative process. Last session, Representative Keisha Waites introduced H.B. 40 to force public and private schools to give sexual orientation, gender, and gender identity civil rights status in instances of bullying. Non cooperative schools would suffer the consequences. The problem is: the definition of bullying has been expanded to include any negative comment to anyone.

If H.B. 40 were to pass, all public schools and all private schools would be forced to discard life-long policies that support traditional morality and replace them with blatant affirmation of alternate lifestyles. If that were to happen, students would lose their freedom of speech. They couldn’t say anything negative about any lifestyle.

Also last year, H.B. 142 was introduced by Representative Simone Bell. It would penalize schools that refuse to adopt pro-homosexual policies. The penalty outlined in her bill would be to withhold scholarship money from any school that would not implement the change.Add to that Senator Fort’s hate crime bill, S.B. 47 that requires offenders to be more harshly punished if the victim is, or is perceived to be, of a different sexual orientation. .

Then, Representative Karla Drenner introduced H.B. 323 to add “sexual orientation” to State government employment policies. She defines the term as “a person’s actual or perceived heterosexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality, or gender related identity or expression.” Meaning, her bill elevates sexual lifestyles to civil rights status, and affirmative action for state jobs would be applied for all those lifestyles.

But that’s not all. On December 11th Representative Keisha Waites pre-filed H.B. 716 that would make it illegal for anyone in Georgia to counsel any person under 18 AGAINST any sexual orientation – bisexuality, homosexuality, transgender – whether it’s a daily choice to cross-dress or an honest inquiry for help. If the bill is officially introduced after the session begins, it will be assigned to a committee. Then I’ll tell you which legislator to call. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.