LGBTQ media advocacy group GLAAD is launching a new multimedia ad calling for the removal of Oklahoma's top education official, whose views and policies on LGBTQ issues have come under intense scrutiny since the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict last month. We are starting a campaign.
A spokesperson for the group told The Hill that the 30-second spot will be aired on Oklahoma's digital and streaming platforms for several weeks starting Tuesday. The five-figure ad buy accused Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters of embracing anti-LGBTQ views and supporting education policies targeting transgender students.
“Ryan Walters is in it for himself and national extremists, not for the children and families of Oklahoma,” the ad says. It encourages voters to pressure state lawmakers to remove Walters from his elected position in 2022.
Oklahoma's constitution gives the Republican-controlled state House of Representatives the power to begin impeachment proceedings against elected officials.
Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCaul (R) announced in September that Democrats had previously called for an impeachment inquiry against Walters, citing mismanagement of state Education Department funds and a “consistent pattern of incitement” against public school teachers. rejected the request.
Democratic Party of August 29th Request to McCall He was referring to a series of bomb threats reported by Tulsa-area school districts after Walters shared a video of one of the district's librarians on X (formerly Twitter).
Mr. McCall said in September that he would not authorize an investigation unless Mr. Walters was charged with a crime. House Democrats renewed their calls for Walters' impeachment in December, saying the situation had “deteriorated.”
As superintendent, Walters has championed conservative causes and opposed the inclusion or inclusion of transgender students in Oklahoma schools. Appearing in a state Department of Education video in August, he said transgender students were a danger to their classmates and claimed that “radical gender theory” was prevalent in schools.
Walters said at a State Board of Education meeting in January that gender fluidity is “the most radical concept I've ever encountered in K-12 education,” and last month the Biden administration He accused the ministry of using the ministry as a weapon to “impose gender ideology on children.” ”
More than 350 LGBTQ and civil rights organizations called for Walters' firing in February, citing his anti-LGBTQ views and his appointment of conservative activist Chaya Rejczyk, the man behind Libs of TikTok, to the state library advisory board. requested. Laichiku's posts often target LGBTQ people.
In a letter to McCall and the Oklahoma House leadership, Walters and others wrote that they were “promoting a culture of violence and hatred” against Oklahoma's Two-Spirit, transgender and gender non-conforming communities who contributed to the death of high school student Benedict. “I did it,” he wrote, saying he was responsible. A sophomore at Owasso High School in Owasso.
Sue Benedict, Benedict's grandmother who he calls his mother, told The Independent in February that Benedict “never thought of themselves as male or female.” The Nex felt they were right in the middle. ”
At a wake last month in Owasso, Benedict's friends said they are transgender and are primarily referred to by he/him pronouns at school, but they also use they/them pronouns.
LGBTQ advocacy groups said Benedict, who is of Choctaw descent, identifies under the umbrella of Two Spirit, transgender and gender nonconforming.
Sue Benedict told The Independent that Benedict had been bullied at school since at least early last year. The two got into an argument in the girls' bathroom and died the next day, according to the school district and local authorities. The possibility that this battle contributed to their deaths has not been ruled out.
“Accessing a safe place to thrive in school should never be difficult. Our schools must be safe places to learn and respect dignity and autonomy for all students. ” Nicole McAfee, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, said in a statement released by GLAAD on Tuesday.
“Mr. Nex Benedict deserved that security, but instead he was bullied for a year by his fellow students,” McAfee said in a statement. “This is because it was imposed on us through policies and rhetoric.”
In response to GLAAD's ad calling for Walters' ouster, Walters spokesman Dan Isett said, “We will never bow to the woke mob out of state.”
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into Benedict's school district, Owasso Public Schools, at the request of the national LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.
The Human Rights Campaign is calling for separate investigations into Walters and the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
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