The Harmful Effect of "Don’t Say Gay" Laws on Young People

Just as evangelicals and Christofascists are busy spreading hate and homophobia in Africa, their efforts to demonize gays and depict gays as a threat to children - much like Anita Bryant's campaign in the 1970's - is surging once again in America, thanks to political whores in the Republican Party who will push the Christofascist agenda in order to avoid primary challenges. The latest incarnation is the "don't say gay" laws prolferating in Republican controled states with Florida leading the way and now banning discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in grades k - 12.  As a column in The New Yoork Times lays out, these laws are harmful (deliberately so) to LGBT youth - and even adults - and can increase suicide risks and other negative behavior.  Sadly, those pushing these laws and the anti-gay campaign care NOTHING about the harm the do to individuals.  Indeed, the most extreme Christofascists within the GOP base regularly call for the execution of gays.  That these "don't say gay" laws and the current GOP war on transgender individuals will likely causes more suidide and misery among LGBT youth means nothing to these foul evangelicals and Christofascists not to mention their puppets in the GOP.  Indeed, I suspect many of them will welcome more LGBT youth suicides.  It's truly all about punishing - and better yet, eliminating - those who don't live by the cherry picked Old Testament passages that these hate merchants cling to.  Christ's message of love and not judging others is nowhere within their belief system.  Here are column excerpts:

Florida Republicans on Wednesday expanded a state law that prohibits classroom instruction on L.G.B.T.Q. subjects through third grade. Now the “Don’t Say Gay” law will also apply to students in grades four to 12.

Though the law might appear to be just about allowing parents a say in their children’s education — now up to high school graduation — its breadth and vagueness have a chilling effect on what students and teachers think they can say about sexual orientation and gender identity. Just as dangerously, scientific research has linked the gag order’s implicit message of exclusion, shame and unworthiness to tangible health harms for L.G.B.T.Q. youth.

The original law, in effect since July 2022, was championed as a way to ensure that very young children wouldn’t be exposed to supposedly age-inappropriate topics. But the law’s expansion to all grades casts doubt on whether that was ever the goal.

I spent decades studying another notorious anti-L.G.B.T.Q. gag rule: the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that banned military members from saying they were gay. Its lessons are instructive. As with “Don’t Say Gay” laws, proponents of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” promised to protect the rights, privacy and dignity of people on all sides of the fraught debate around sexuality. The policy was sold as a way to prevent the culture wars from infecting a key institution of American society. Yet in reality, it did the opposite, heightening division, undermining trust, hampering morale and driving capable people away.

Our country now risks replicating the damage of this failed policy, but this time for children. Since 2021, versions of the “Don’t Say Gay” law have been introduced in 24 state legislatures. The political calculus here is evident. . . . if additional politically convenient gag orders were to pass, they would harm L.G.B.T.Q. students across the country.

A 2008 report by a panel of senior retired military officers provides a damning summary of the individual and institutional costs of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

Even speech restrictions that don’t directly ban coming out are sure to reproduce this corrosive dynamic by impeding the sort of free and authentic exchanges between students and teachers that are vital to cultivating trusting relationships and cohesive learning communities.

Indeed, one of the reasons “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was so harmful was that penalizing expression — through direct or indirect pressure to self-police how one appears to others — harms both personal health and social cohesion. For L.G.B.T.Q. people especially, disclosing their true selves and being accepted by their community is critical to their well-being. When sexual orientation and gender identity are marginalized, young people can feel shamed and suppress their identities in ways that harm their mental and physical health.

Studies bear this out. . . . We found that being able to come out is a crucial part of healthy development for L.G.B.T.Q. young people and “can reduce the stress associated with worrying about future rejection.” Yet “Don’t Say Gay” laws threaten the future of the clubs and support groups that often serve as the only safe spaces for students to come out.

Evidence also shows that hostile or negative social environments, especially in schools, cause or compound problems for L.G.B.T.Q. youth. One study involving more than 9,000 students found that L.G.B. students who experienced hostility and anti-gay victimization “reported higher levels of substance use, suicidality and sexual risk behaviors.” . . . . suicide attempts were “20 percent greater in unsupportive environments compared to supportive environments,” stark evidence of the difference made by gay-friendly climates.

As gender identity and expression have become ground zero of the culture wars, transgender and gender-nonconforming youth have experienced particularly hostile climates, evidenced by outright bans on transition-related health care. A climate like this is dangerous.

Our research reviews have found that even just the fear of being stigmatized or mistreated has a measurable negative impact. Laws like the Florida bill will cause harm whether or not direct censorship takes place.

As much as discriminatory laws harm L.G.B.T.Q. people, policies of equal treatment can help — even just by virtue of the affirming messages they send. A 2017 study found that suicide attempts by young people dropped by 7 percent in states that legalized same-sex marriage. . . . Young people who are not yet certain of their identity can benefit enormously from precisely the kinds of discussion and conversation now being prohibited.

The science is overwhelmingly clear. Affirming young people’s L.G.B.T.Q. identity and providing them with supportive communities will help them thrive. Silencing or stigmatizing them will not.

We know so much about what hurts and helps L.G.B.T.Q. youth. It is heartbreaking to watch lawmakers pass bills that are known to cause harm and whose only upside is scoring political points. Laws like these don’t actually give parents any more rights than they currently have, while the damage they cause is already palpable, with students sharing more and more stories of censorship, isolation and fear. When combined with book bans and limits on transition-related care, along with a restrictive federal bill passed by the Republican-controlled House, the landscape for L.G.B.T.Q. youth looks grim.

We know how to make these young lives better. We also know how to make them worse. The question is whether the adults actually care.