MO Republican State Rep Comes Out of the Closet

Missouri State Representative Zach Wyatt lives in Novinger, MO and represents the 2nd District, encompassing Adair county, Putnam county, and a part of Sullivan county. At 27, he’s already served in the Air Force, and shortly he’ll be retiring from politics to move to Hawaii and study marine biology, taking advantage of his veteran education benefits while he can.

Before departing, though, he had an important message regarding MO House Bill HB2011, better known as Missouri’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill:

Via The Huffington Post:

Regret over voting against a bill that would have outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation and fears that the sponsor of the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill would take a leadership role, prompted a Republican Missouri lawmaker to come out during a press conference Wednesday morning.

State Rep. Zach Wyatt (R-Green Castle) said the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ legislation — which would bar the discussion of sexual orientation in public school classes and extracurricular activities — drove him to make the announcement, which he never expected to make. House Bill 2051 gained support from the House’s top Republican leadership, including the speaker and majority leader.

From PROMO:

The Missouri House has referred a bill to committee that would eliminate discussions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in public schools, prohibit teachers from addressing bullying based on sexual orientation, and likely ban gay-straight alliances.

HB2051 states:
170.370. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, no instruction, material, or extracurricular activity sponsored by a public school that discusses sexual orientation other than in scientific instruction concerning human reproduction shall be provided in any public school.

This is a desperate tactic by frightened, bigoted, cynical individuals who are terrified at the advancement the LGBT community has made in breaking down the barriers to full and equal treatment under the law.

I wish that Wyatt was sticking around longer so that his admission and position within the MO State Republican Party could have continued having an influence after yesterday’s announcement, but at least he came out and made a very public declaration that has been well-covered in the media.

Ignoring reality is the opposite of what our educational institutions should be doing, and this bill is harmful to LGBT students who need the support of teachers and school administrations. You can find out more about the bill and sign a petition at oktosaygay.org, and find the petition to sign to fight back against this legislation. You’ll also find quotes and videos from Missourians who want to push back against this insidious bill.

Oh, yeah, and hey: Missouri made it onto the Colbert Report. Way to go, us.