Ken Paxton Among AGs Suing USDA Over LGBTQ School Meal Directive

[Nevilledog]

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Tweet text:

Gillian Branstetter
@GBBranstetter
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20 GOP-led states are suing the USDA over a rule from the agency that prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ students in free school lunch programs. The AGs argue schools have the right to deny queer and trans kids lunch money.

nbcdfw.com
Ken Paxton Among AGs Suing USDA Over LGBTQ School Meal Directive
More than 20 Republican attorneys general have filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over a Department of Agriculture school meal program that prohibits discrimination based on sexual...
5:50 AM · Jul 27, 2022

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/ken-paxton-among-ags-suing-usda-over-lgbtq-school-meal-directive/3032288/

More than 20 Republican attorneys general including Texas' Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit Tuesday against President Joe Biden's administration over a Department of Agriculture school meal program that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The challenge, led by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, claims that the federal government is attempting to force states and schools to follow anti-discrimination requirements that "misconstrue the law."

The coalition of attorneys general are hoping for a similar result to a separate challenge from earlier this month when a Tennessee judge temporarily barred two federal agencies from enforcing directives issued by Biden's administration that extended protections for LGBTQ people in schools and workplaces.

The judge sided with the attorneys general, ruling that the directives infringed on states' right to enact laws, such as banning students from participating in sports based on their gender identity or requiring schools and businesses to provide bathrooms and showers to accommodate transgender people.

*snip*

[Shell_Seas]

1. Gawd, I hate this man. He's pure evil.

[Initech]

27. He's a soulless ghoul with no empathy for anybody.

Yeah really, fuck that POS.

[LudwigPastorius]

28. He's so evil,...

the right side of his face is trying desperately to escape his skull.

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. FFS, they're kids, like any other.

They get hungry.

[vercetti2021]

3. Just fucking die already

And fast. Take Hot Wheels with you too prick

[RKP5637]

4. These AG's are really off their rockers. Can't believe the GOP's endless discrimination against

all type of people.

[PortTack]

5. Would somebody please squash him for the cockroach he is

[DET]

6. What!?

How do they even come up with these insane ideas? What’s next - firing squad?

[cos dem]

7. He wakes up every morning asking "what can I do to be an enormous asshole today?"

[walkingman]

8. hopefully his days are numbered. No one in their right mind would re-elect him.

[LudwigPastorius]

30. Yes, but Texas.

[RKP5637]

9. The GOP has clearly become Domestic Terrorists and White Supremacists and Diversionary Agents

straight from hell. They really are deviant individuals as disciples of hell bent on the destruction of the US in any way they can manage it. They should not even be called the GOP. They are diabolical sadistic and cruel people!!!

[Wednesdays]

10. How would the discrimination even be enforced?

As far as sexual orientation is concerned, short of already knowing the child, there's not much to go on there. Unless they say, "he looks effeminate" or "she looks butch."

[Midnight Writer]

15. Republican AGs have magic gaydar.

[DoUListenWhenUHear]

17. I want a bumper sticker that says:

"Today's Republican Party -- Pulling up little girl's dresses searching for ding-dongs!"

[haele]

23. That's exactly how they're going to do it at first.

Then it's going to be "he's not good at sports" and "she doesn't have a boyfriend by the age of 15".
Or "those kids are too smart and too nice to everyone and talk about sharing -even to those people".
And finally end up with "that family is a nothing but a bunch of liberal troublemakers" or "that family doesn't go to the right church".

That's how small town red county school board "administrators" can determine which kids are LGBTQ+ and discriminate against them.

Haele

[Sanity Claws]

11. That's crazy and hateful

Who can be against feeding kids?

[mopinko]

12. nobody should hand over their kids to someone for 6-8 hrs a day that

thinks they dont have to feed.them.all.
hell, these assholes are mad they have to feed ANY of them.

[ret5hd]

13. The ENTIRE point is to destroy public education.

It would bring them immense satisfaction if enrollment dropped to zero tomorrow…stage one won.

Next stage: eliminate the school portion of property tax.

Next next stage: profit from the sale of public school property by (the rich) purchasing the properties on the cheap then leasing them out or demolish/resell.

At that point, public education would be impossible to rebuild…too expensive to purchase and rebuild properties.

I often feel it is too late.

[DoUListenWhenUHear]

14. GOP seems like they are trying to lose

Democrats need to take stories like this and run with them to prove to the public just how twisted the GOP has become. Forget all of the real problems that your state is suffering from, your AG is out to starve kids who they do not like. They are fighting laws claiming it is their right to discriminate against certain people. Please, someone explain why this is important for the Republican Party? It is an obvious example of their cruelty and hatred of others -- one that doesn't work too well as a campaign bumper sticker! Anyone who goes after the queer community with such animosity is almost always an angry closet case trying to keep anyone from finding them out. Add to this the fact Texas AG's little thingy doesn't work anymore -- so he is most definitely out to hurt those whose thingies do work -- and this explains what we are seeing here!

[Midnight Writer]

16. Operative phrase, I'm afraid, is "take stories like this and run with them".

I can practically guarantee that this shocking story will sink beneath the waves overnight. It will not enter the "news cycle" and will be forgotten as fast as it came up. We have ceded the media to the RW, and now these stories have their shock value muted.

Welcome to DU.

[yardwork]

18. How mean would you have to be...

The mind boggles.

[Wounded Bear]

19. The cruelty and the barbarity is the point...

Stupid RWers think that they can be cruel to the "right people" and refuse to acknowledge that eventually the cruelty will get around to them.

[EnergizedLib]

20. How?

This should not hold up in court (won’t hold my breath), but I don’t see how you can justify denying aid to somebody because of their orientation.

Wasn’t Paxton indicted? What’s taking so long?

[Mysterian]

21. Pure evil

We must defeat these depraved, evil people seeking total control of our nation.

Or we will all become victims to their mindless cruelty.

[Initech]

22. What a colossal piece of shit!

[Hekate]

24. Vile cockroaches. Vile, vile, vile

[Mad_Machine76]

25. Who

does this sort of thing?! Ghouls.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

26. What a jackass!

[Behind the Aegis]

29. What happened to their mantra of "Won't SOMEBODY think of the children?!"

[Aristus]

31. "Rabboni, we found some food, but it's only five loaves and two fish."

"That should be enough, but none for the LGBTQ's, all right?"

Republican Jesus strikes again...

[muriel_volestrangler]

32. For anyone (like me) who had only read the AP article, this is as bad as Branstetter(ACLU) says

I had read the AP article, on NBC (DFW), and got the impression that this was about the Repub AGs wanting the general ability to discriminate in schools, and the federal government trying to stop it through withholding some money, that happened to be for meals, because this is what AP said:

The judge sided with the attorneys general, ruling that the directives infringed on states' right to enact laws, such as banning students from participating in sports based on their gender identity or requiring schools and businesses to provide bathrooms and showers to accommodate transgender people.
...
In May, the USDA announced that it would include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity as a violation of Title IX, the sweeping 1972 law that guarantees equity between the sexes in "any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." The directive requires states to review allegations of discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, as well as update their policies and signage.

The agency warned that states and schools that receive federal funds, which include the national school lunch program overseen by the USDA, have agreed to follow civil rights laws. Although the agency says it wants voluntary compliance, it also has promised to refer violations to the Department of Justice. It is not clear whether the federal government would hold back funding for school meal programs as part of its enforcement.

But Branstetter's following tweet makes clear, via a Politico article, that the Repubs really do want to be bigoted in the lunches:

Link to tweet

Republicans are particularly concerned with language in the USDA guidance that says programs that receive federal nutrition money need to state their policies for combating anti-LGBTQ discrimination.
...
The USDA guidance, however, is only aimed at programs that receive federal nutrition money, not other aspects of school policy that may affect LGBTQ students. A USDA official emphasized that the administration wouldn’t pull funding from a school lunch program just because the state has restrictive laws around sports or bathroom access for transgender kids, nor because a school lacks an LGBTQ policy. Rather, individuals could only file complaints if they’ve been discriminated against by the specific school lunch program based on gender identity — for example, if they were denied food because they were transgender.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/22/gop-senator-considering-blocking-school-meal-funding-deal-over-transgender-policy-fight-00041366

So the questions of "how would they know?" and "what do they want to do?" are indeed relevant. I imagine the answer to "how would they know?" is "they don't care; they'll be nasty to any child they even suspect of being LGBTQ, or just of supporting them. Belonging to a Gay-Straight Alliance club would be enough for them to say "no lunch for you!"."