On April 7, the Alabama legislature passed its own version of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" law after a surprise amendment was attached to a transgender bathroom bill, AL.com reported.
On the last day of the legislative session, Republican state Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, introduced an amendment that would ban classroom instruction or discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity for grades K-5.
The amendment's language largely mirrors Florida's version of the law, which applies to grades K-3.
The original bill, Alabama's HB322, sought to require public school students to use restrooms and locker rooms designated for the sex shown on their birth certificates. State Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, the only openly gay lawmaker in the state House, challenged the bill's sponsor, Rep. Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle, on what the amendment was seeking to address.
In a statement responding to the development, Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund Interim Deputy Legal Director Scott McCoy said in a press release Windy City Times received that "the Alabama Senate continued its disgraceful attack on transgender youth by passing House Bill 322 which bars students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. Thanks to a last-minute amendment, the bill now also takes their prejudice one step further by prohibiting classroom instruction or discussion regarding sexual orientation or gender identity for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
"This bill, along with all the harmful legislation being passed, filed, and considered across the country, is a clear violation of Title IX and the Constitution. The vast majority of courts continue to find it illegal to bar transgender youth from restrooms that align with their gender identity. This includes the Supreme Court, which rejected denying trans students access to bathrooms in accordance with their gender identities for the second time in 2021.
"Denying transgender students access to common spaces is discriminatory and deleting their experiences and needs from conversation erases their existence. Transgender people have always been an integral part of our communities and are deserving of dignity and respect, along with equal access to any and all common spaces."