During a recent CNN appearance, Chasten
Buttigieg denounced a proposed Florida bill dubbed “Don't Say Gay.”
The Parental Rights in Education bill
(HB 1557) prohibits discussion about sexual orientation and gender
identity in a school setting. Other provisions in the bill would
require school administrators to notify parents if a student
identifies as LGBTQ at school, effectively outing students to their
parents.
The
bill cleared a House committee last week and now heads to the
full House.
Buttigieg, the husband of
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, cited a Trevor Project study
that shows 42 percent of LGBTQ youth have considered suicide.
“We should be approaching that number
with urgency and with compassion and care,” he told anchor
John Berman. “Wondering what we’re
doing what kind of country we’re building, or in Florida, what kind
of state are you building where you’re essentially pushing kids
back into the closet.”
“You’re saying we can’t talk
about you, we can’t talk about your families. And you know, as a
kid who grew up for 18 years being told you don’t belong, something
about you is wrong – sometimes, you take that trauma to heart. And
unfortunately there are a lot of kids in this country who do the
worst because we tell them something about you is twisted and you
don’t belong here,” said Buttigieg, an educator.
The Buttigiegs are raising two
children.
(Related: Pete
Buttigieg calls being a dad “amazing and indescribable.”)