Former LGBT Ally Wants 'More Aggressive' 'Don't Say Gay' Bill in Michigan
James Craig, seems to have reversed his allyship to the LGBTQ community, saying he'd want a "more aggressive" version of Florida's controversial "Don't Say Gay" bill.Last Thursday, Craig, a former Detroit police chief, told WJBK that if he were to be elected governor, he would go even further than lawmakers in Florida, banning classroom discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation beyond kindergarten through third grade all the way up to middle school."I'd be a little more aggressive with it.
I would go beyond the third grade. Maybe the sixth grade. It shouldn't be a conversation with teachers and students; that's up to the parents," Craig said.His remarks echo a Republican wave that has swept the nation in the weeks since Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill into law last month.GOP lawmakers in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee have all proposed their own legislation similar the bill in Florida.There has yet to be one introduced in Michigan.But Craig voiced his support for a similar bill despite having supported Detroit's LGBTQ community as the chief of the police department just a couple years ago.In 2019, Craig led the flag-raising ceremony at the Motor City Pride Festival."We are a community committed to inclusiveness, where everyone matters and everyone can contribute," he said at the event.It was not the first pride event that Craig had attended.Back in 2018, he also joined the the Hotter Than July Black Pride festival, where he gave a speech about the importance of strong relationships between police departments and local LGBTQ communities—something he said he first.
