Kentucky is on track to pass a new bill that would declare transgender people mentally ill and ban trans teachers from working.
State senator Gex Williams proposed the amendment to House Bill 759, which relates to teacher certification.
The amendment itself does not mention trans people specifically, but would forbid the certification of teachers who have been diagnosed with or treated for any “disorder that is excluded from the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990”.
The ADA sets out a list of “disorders” that are not protected by law, including “gender identity disorders”. Other listed disorders include transexualism, pedophilia, kleptomania, compulsive gambling and voyeurism, amongst others.
Speaking to the Herald-Leader on 9 March, Williams said: “Those who continue to promote such transitions and gender confusion or are themselves confused should not have teaching certificates giving them the privilege of having care, custody and control of Kentucky’s most valuable asset, our children.”
The amendment will also require doctors licensed in Kentucky to “diagnose the disorders [excluded from the ADA] based on the disorder definitions in the DSM III”.
This means doctors will need to utilise outdated terms like “transexualism” and “gender identity disorder” instead of gender dysphoria and reclassify being trans as a mental illness for the first time since 2013.
Following a session on 28 March, Senate Republican leadership put the bill on the consent orders for 31 March, which is a fast-tracked process meant for “uncontroversial bills”, Transitics reported.
This fast track means that the bill will be voted on without being debated beforehand. It will be passed as default if no other Senators oppose Williams’ amendments.
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