HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Republican Alabama state Representative Mack Butler has explained to FOX54 his sponsorship of House Bill 130, which would prohibit discussion or education of matters relating to gender identity and sexual orientation in K-12 schools. Butler this week introduced an amendment to include Space Camp to this bill.
The change comes days after a social media post about a transgender employee of Space Camp mushroomed into a viral discourse.
Some Alabama lawmakers called on camp officials "to immediately remove the individual," in the words posted to X (formerly Twitter) by Congressman Dale Strong.
"Current Alabama law prohibits classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity from Kindergarten to fifth grade, but many of us believe it is an inappropriate discussion for any grade," Rep. Butler told FOX54 in an email. "Those issues should be discussed between children and their parents or with families and their clergy, not in a classroom. Classrooms are for learning reading, writing, and arithmetic, not for indoctrinating children with beliefs that run counter to fundamental values.
"We are taught to love one another and we definitely want everyone employed, but we must be careful in the selection of those who supervise and instruct our students," Butler continued. "We do have an amendment coming for HB 130 (that makes the current law applicable to the 12th grade)and this amendment will extend these prohibitions to Space Camp as well. If there is currently no such instruction or discussion taking place then no harm and no foul. We simply want the absolute best for our children and for them to have a safe learning environment."
Space & Rocket Center officials on Friday said that no official complaints of misconduct or wrongdoing against any Space Camp employee have been made in relation to the claims made on social media as their independent review of the matter continues. They did say, however, that the campus and employees have been made the target of various threats, which are being investigated by the proper authorities.