Text of AR HR 1018 (2021)

*MLD108* 02/25/2021 2:36:03 PM MLD108 State of Arkansas 1 93rd General Assembly 2 Regular Session, 2021 HR 1018 3 4 By: Representatives Bryant, Lundstrum 5 6 HOUSE RESOLUTION 7 TO URGE THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, THE POLITICAL 8 SUBDIVISIONS OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, PUBLICLY 9 FUNDED AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND THEIR EMPLOYEES 10 TO PROTECT THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN BY KEEPING THIS 11 PROMISE TO ARKANSAS’S CHILDREN. 12 13 14 Subtitle 15 TO PROTECT THE WELFARE OF CHILDREN BY 16 KEEPING THIS PROMISE TO ARKANSAS’S 17 CHILDREN. 18 19 20 WHEREAS, children have become increasingly targeted at younger ages for 21 adults’ sexual messages, images, and themes; and 22 23 WHEREAS, cultural forces, including social media and entertainment, and 24 government-sponsored initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels 25 expose children to explicit, sexual content; and 26 27 WHEREAS, international and domestic activities infuse public school 28 curricula with graphic information about sex and abortion, and with political 29 ideologies or policies concerning sexual orientation and gender identity; and 30 31 WHEREAS, federal legislation could override efforts of concerned 32 parents and community members at the local level; and 33 34 WHEREAS, federal legislation may penalize Americans, including parents, 35 who disagree with these ideologies and policies; and 36 HR1018 2 02/25/2021 2:36:03 PM MLD108 1 WHEREAS, children are constantly learning and are particularly 2 influenced by the trusted adults in their lives; and 3 4 WHEREAS, children’s minds are treasures to nurture and help grow; and 5 6 WHEREAS, what children learn can determine their success or failure, 7 their ability to properly assess risk, and their vulnerability to 8 exploitation; and 9 10 WHEREAS, children’s bodies should be honored, protected, and given the 11 chance to develop naturally; and 12 13 WHEREAS, children's privacy and physical safety should not be 14 sacrificed for the sake of political ideology or policy; and 15 16 WHEREAS, adults responsible for children are charged with protecting 17 and caring for their bodies; and 18 19 WHEREAS, the safest place for a child is with his or her loving and 20 involved parents; and 21 22 WHEREAS, political or ideological efforts to drive wedges between 23 children and parents are not healthy; and 24 25 WHEREAS, every child deserves protection from use in or exposure to 26 pornography and graphic sexual content or activities, including in media and 27 on the internet; and 28 29 WHEREAS, every child deserves an education suited for his or her 30 specific needs and development as guided by his or her parents, including one 31 free of graphic sexual curricula or content, the promotion of abortion, and 32 politicized ideas about sexual orientation and gender identity; and 33 34 WHEREAS, to protect this right, all public school sexual education 35 programs should be opt-in, and voluntarily chosen by parents; and 36 HR1018 3 02/25/2021 2:36:03 PM MLD108 1 WHEREAS, a general opt-out should be provided for other sensitive 2 topics families do not believe appropriate for their children; and 3 4 WHEREAS, parents should have the right to review all curricula, reading 5 material, teacher’s guides, and computer programs or applications; and 6 7 WHEREAS, every child deserves the right to free speech, to either speak 8 or not speak, and to affirm or not affirm messages or ideas that violate his 9 or her beliefs or conscience; and 10 11 WHEREAS, every child deserves safety and privacy in sex-specific 12 spaces, including locker rooms, showers, and restrooms at schools and other 13 publicly funded facilities; and 14 15 WHEREAS, every child deserves the opportunity to participate in fair 16 and safe athletic competitions, and female athletes should not be forced to 17 compete against biological males in sports competitions intended for 18 biological females; and 19 20 WHEREAS, every child deserves the opportunity to be affirmed in his or 21 her genetically determined sex, and to receive support throughout puberty and 22 other natural adolescent changes that shape physical maturity and 23 reproductive capacity; and 24 25 WHEREAS, gender reassignment medical treatments, including puberty 26 blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sterilizing surgeries, are neither natural 27 nor healthy, and should not be permitted for minors; and 28 29 WHEREAS, each child deserves to have his or her parents informed of and 30 involved in important life decisions; and 31 32 WHEREAS, authority figures, including teachers, counselors, or medical 33 professionals, should not withhold information about a child’s sexual 34 activity, development, or identity from parents, nor take any action 35 undermining the parents’ role in guiding the child in these areas, nor should 36 HR1018 4 02/25/2021 2:36:03 PM MLD108 authority figures encourage or coerce a child to withhold information about 1 important life decisions from the parent; and 2 3 WHEREAS, the State of Arkansas should to the fullest extent possible 4 under the law resist every attempt or mandate by the federal government to 5 force anyone in Arkansas to violate the principles set forth in this 6 resolution, 7 8 NOW THEREFORE, 9 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL 10 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 11 12 THAT the House of Representatives urge the State of Arkansas, all state 13 agencies, the political subdivisions of the State of Arkansas, publicly 14 funded agencies, public schools and open enrollment charter schools, 15 organizations, and their employees, to protect the welfare of every child in 16 Arkansas as guided by this resolution. 17 18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the House of Representatives adopt this 19 resolution as a promise to Arkansas’s children to protect the welfare of 20 every child and directs that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the 21 administrative head of each state agency, including the secretary of each 22 cabinet-level department, to be shared with all employees under his or her 23 leadership. 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36