NEW ORLEANS — At the intersection of Bourbon and St. Ann in the French Quarter, vibrant rainbow colors are ready to welcome Pride weekend in New Orleans.
“Some people would argue that pride is no longer necessary, but it really is,” said LGBTQ advocate Frank Perez.
Perez points to the state capitol as a big reason why. He says three bills passed by lawmakers impact the LGBTQ community.
“It’s sad, and silly, and harmful, and dangerous. There are a lot bigger issues they need to be tackling,” said Perez.
Two house bills are waiting for the governor’s signature. House Bill 121 requires parental permission for students to use preferred names or pronouns in schools. The bill’s author, Representative Raymond Crews, a Republican from Bossier City, told lawmakers during a committee meeting on May 15th that it was a way to leave social issues outside the classroom.
“I think this legislation will go a long way to just making sure schools are focused on those issues of teaching that are important and the parents know what’s going on,” said Crews.
House Bill 122 bans school staff from talking about sexuality and gender inside classrooms and at extracurricular and social activities.
“Having sexualized sexual discussions between educators and students in their classrooms are not appropriate and they could rob our children of their innocence while imposing suggestive influence over their developing young minds,” said the bill’s author, Representative Dodie Horton, a Republican from Haughton.
Already signed by the governor is House Bill 608. It requires people to use bathrooms at schools, correctional facilities, and even domestic violence shelters that correspond to their sex assigned at birth. The bill’s author Rep. Roger Wilder says it’s about protecting people assigned female at birth.
“This is not a bathroom bill any more than it is a shower bill, a locker room bill, a dormitory bill,” said the bill’s author, Rep. Roger Wilder, a Republican from Denham Springs. “It’s not anti-anything, although it’s going to be claimed that. It is pro-woman, pro-privacy.”
About a dozen states now have laws regulating who can use which bathroom.
“No woman’s right to privacy should be compromised based on somebody else’s individual beliefs about their gender,” said Wilder.
Perez says all three bills are unneeded and hopes for resolve.
“I think what the passages of these bills says to the LGBTQ community is, don’t get comfortable, we still got a lot of work to do,” said Perez.
That’s another reason Perez says Pride weekend is important.
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