Parental rights bill moves to Wisconsin Senate

Republicans in Wisconsin’s state assembly on Thursday passed a measure intended to protect parents’ freedom to decide what pronouns apply to their children at school. All 35 Democrats in the assembly voted against the legislation. The bill would also allow parents to remove their children from classroom discussions about gender, sexual orientation, racism, and other topics that conflict with their personal beliefs. Bill author Representative Robert Wittke said parents deserve to know and have a say in what their children are taught. The state Senate is considering a companion legislation.

What have opponents said about the legislation? Democratic lawmakers argued that the bill would cause psychological harm to children who ask to use different pronouns but don’t want to tell their parents, said Democratic Representative Melissa Ratcliff. Democratic Governor Tony Evers would likely veto the bill as he did with a separate measure in 2022. Last year, lawmakers introduced similar laws in at least two dozen states nationwide, according to FutureEd.

Dig deeper: Read Kayla Toney’s column in WORLD Opinions about a coalition asking the Supreme Court to protect parental rights.