The mayor of Barnegat, New Jersey is
calling on state lawmakers to reverse a law that starting next year
will add the contributions of LGBT Americans to school curriculums.
Signed into law on January 31, the law
requires middle and high school curriculums include the contributions
of people with disabilities or who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgender. It would apply to the 2020-2021 school year.
On Tuesday, Alfonso Cirulli, the city's
Republican mayor and a former assistant principal, launched a
campaign to fight the law, the Asbury
Park Press reported.
Cirulli launched his campaign during a
public meeting of the Township Committee.
In his remarks, he called the LGBT
rights movement “an affront to almighty God” and said that the
law should be withdrawn because it violates the religious rights of
parents and amounts to the indoctrination of children.
“We've crossed over the line into
absurdity,” he said. “Now is the time for the righteous to stand
up for their rights.”
Garden State Equality, the state's
largest LGBT rights advocate, called Cirulli's remarks “deeply
troubling.”
"You cannot opt out of
LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum just like you cannot opt out of science or
black history simply because of ill-informed or close-minded personal
beliefs," Garden State Equality Communications Director Jon
Oliveira said in an email to the Press. "LGBTQ history is
a part of American history, and to hide or misrepresent who, how, and
why we are here today means students would otherwise be learning
fiction."