SW News: In the US state of Louisiana, lawmakers are advancing a bill that prevents teachers or school employees from teaching sexual orientation or gender identity in classrooms. It was on Tuesday, May 9, that lawmakers advanced the legislation and it was passed in the House 67-28.

The bill now moves to the Senate dominated by the Republicans. It is expected that the legislation will be passed by Senate members. The bill stipulates that K-12 public school staff should not discuss sexual orientation and gender identity in school and during extracurricular activities "in a manner that deviates from state content standards or curricula developed or approved by the public school governing authority." It also mandates that a teacher should use a student’s name and pronouns that align with his or her biological sex.

Those supporting the legislation say that it will protect children and permit parents to have a say on how and when to address the topics such as sexual orientation and gender identity. The bill is quite similar to the one passed by Florida last year. Inked by Governor Ron DeSantis, the legislation prohibited sexual orientation lessons and gender identity topics in kindergarten through Grade Three. Since then, the state policy has been expanded to cover all grades.

On the other hand, opponents of the bill say that it is a calculated attack on the so-called LGBT community and risks harming the vulnerable group. They allege that it will have the opposite effect instead of protecting students and teachers. They say that the bill could send homosexuals and lesbians into depression and anxiety by robbing them of a safe spot in schools.

"We cannot keep telling our children they do not matter, and that is what we’re saying with legislation like this," said Candace Newell, a New Orleans Democrat. "Just because a person is different does not mean that we should discriminate against them."