Maryland
Cox criticizes ‘transgender indoctrination’ in Md. kindergartens
Trump-backed Republican debated Democratic Wes Moore on Wednesday
Republican Maryland gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox on Wednesday said there is “transgender indoctrination” in the state’s kindergartens.
“We’re not doing enough because too many times we exclude the parents from involvement,” said Cox in response to a question about support for LGBTQ students in Maryland schools during a debate against Democrat Wes Moore that Maryland Public Television hosted at Morgan State University in Baltimore. “I fought against a bill that would literally allow 12-year-olds to receive counseling without their parents even knowing. That’s wrong. We need to make sure parents are involved.”
“What I will do also is ensure that the indoctrination stops,” added Cox. “We cannot have transgender indoctrination in kindergarten. That’s preposterous. That’s exactly what my opponent supports. It’s on his website. I will stand against that and eradicate that from the curriculum and get back to world class learning.”
Cox also noted “Gender Queer: A Memoir,” a book that nonbinary author Maia Kobabe wrote, depicts “things that I cannot show you on television, it’s so disgusting.”
“We’re going to change that and say let’s get back to math, let’s get back to making sure that our kids know how to read and write,” said Cox.
Moore in response to the question said “many of the issues that we’re discussing are being addressed at the local level and it’s important for the state to understand that we’re a partner in that, but we don’t dictate to the local jurisdictions as to how their education processes work.”
“I have an 11-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son,” said Moore. “All I ever want for my children is for them to be seen and for them to feel like they are being heard and I want the same thing for every child.”
Moore noted rates of homelessness are higher among LGBTQ youth in Maryland than for those who identify as heterosexual. He also pointed to a statistic that indicate 80 percent of transgender people in the state have considered suicide.
“I want to say to all of our LGBTQ youth and families: I see you and I hear you and all policies that will be made will be made in partnership because that is how we have to lead as a state, in partnership,” said Moore.
Cox, who represents District 4 in the Maryland House of Delegates, last October sought to amend an education bill that would restrict what he has described as “classroom indoctrination” around gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. The Trump-backed Republican, among other things, has also said he would ban transgender students from girls’ sports teams.
A poll the Washington Post and the University of Maryland released last week shows Cox is trailing Moore by 32 points.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore on Tuesday signed a bill that decriminalizes HIV in the state.
State Dels. Kris Fair (D-Frederick County) and Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City) are among the lawmakers who sponsored House Bill 39 or the Carlton R. Smith Act, which is named after the long-time activist known as the “mayor” of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood who died in May 2024.
Smith was a member of the Coalition to Decriminalize HIV in Maryland that advocated for the bill. FreeState Justice, a statewide LGBTQ rights group, was also part of the coalition.
“At FreeState Justice, we are proud to stand with advocates, health experts, and lawmakers who worked diligently to advance this bill. The bipartisan support for the Carlton R. Smith Act is a testament to the power of education, research, and courageous leadership,” said FreeState Justice Executive Director Phillip Westry in a statement. “It sends a clear message: Maryland is committed to evidence-based policymaking and to ending the criminalization of people living with HIV. We honor the memory of Carlton R. Smith by continuing the work of building a more just, inclusive, and informed society.”
Maryland is the fifth state to decriminalize HIV.
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong, a Republican, in March signed a bill that decriminalized HIV in his state.
Maryland
A Baltimore theater educator lost jobs at Johns Hopkins and the Kennedy Center
Tavish Forsyth concluded they could not work for Trump
BY WESLEY CASE | Tavish Forsyth had come to a conclusion: They could not work for President Donald Trump.
So the 32-year-old Baltimore resident stripped down, turned on their camera, and lit their career on fire.
“F—— Donald Trump and f—— the Kennedy Center,” a naked Forsyth, an associate artistic lead at the Washington National Opera’s Opera Institute, which is run by the Kennedy Center, said in a video that went viral. The board of the nation’s leading cultural institution had elected Trump just weeks prior as its chairman after he gutted the board of members appointed by his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Md. schools plan to comply with federal DEI demands
Superintendents opt for cooperation over confrontation
By LIZ BOWIE | Deciding not to pick a fight with the Trump administration, Maryland school leaders plan to sign a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that says their school districts are complying with all civil rights laws.
The two-paragraph letter could deflect a confrontation over whether the state’s public schools run diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that the Trump administration has called illegal. The Baltimore Banner reviewed the letter, which was shared by a school administrator who declined to be identified because the letter has not yet been sent.
Maryland school leaders are taking a more conciliatory approach than those in some other states. Education leaders in Minnesota, New York, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin said they will not comply with the federal education department’s order, the demands of which, they say, are based on a warped interpretation of civil rights law.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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