On December 13, President Joe Biden turned the signing of the unnecessary and controversial ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ into a radical LGBT spectacle. Pandering to the far-left base of the Democrat Party, the Biden White House was lit up on Tuesday night with the rainbow colors that have become the symbol for LGBT activism. But it seems the fanfare may have only been appreciated by the extremist minority. The Western Journal reported that Biden was “slammed for the White House light display,” which turned it into “the symbol of an interest group.” Users flocked to social media to air their disgust. According to the Journal, “one Twitter post called the display ‘Shocking. And stealing God’s rainbow. This is the tyranny of the twisted.’” Another tweeted: “the world is laughing,” while another vented “Now we’ve seen it all.” But passage of the RMA is hardly a laughing matter. Fox News reported that during the bill-signing ceremony, Biden attacked states that protect children by limiting gender-transition surgeries for minors, saying “those laws need to be challenged.” Besides the usual gaggle of fawning Democrat leaders, Fox reported that “members of the LGBTQIA+ community, advocates and allies,” including activists such as “non-binary drag queen Marti Gould Cummings and drag performer Brita Filter [aka Jesse Havea]” were invited guests. Fox noted that Cummings is known to have “repeatedly attacked police online.” And celebrities including pop singer Cyndi Lauper whined that “finally we are all able to love,” as if same-sex couples haven’t been basking unfettered in their love for years. Some conservatives accused Biden of “virtue signaling.” Fox quoted in part a statement from Ryan Bangert of Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative law firm opposed to the bill: "The president chose virtue-signaling over protecting millions of Americans, churches, and faith-based organizations that spoke out for months about the undeniable harms of this unnecessary bill.”

Actor, writer, and outspoken Christian, Kirk Cameron has approached more than 50 public libraries requesting a story hour slot to read his new faith-based children’s book, without a single one granting permission until recently. This despite the fact that numerous libraries across the country champion drag queen story hours, and some even have programs promoting “gender fluidity, inclusion, and diversity.” According to a Fox News report, other libraries offer “’name change’ clinics for older teens and adults who want to alter their official paperwork for gender-identity reasons.” Fox News Digital reporter Maureen Mackey wrote: “With a new children's book out that celebrates family, faith, and biblical wisdom, actor-writer-producer Kirk Cameron cannot reach scores of American children or their families in many U.S. cities via the public library system because over 50 public libraries have either outright rejected him or not responded to requests on his behalf. A story-hour program for kids and parents connected to new book releases is an activity that many libraries typically present to their patrons and communities.” One example of the rejections is a library in Providence, Rhode Island that admitted to Cameron’s publisher, Brave Books: “We are a very queer-friendly library. Our messaging does not align. We will pass on having you run a program in our space.” Cameron’s new book is called As You Grow and is part of a series of children’s books that are both entertaining and moral. But Cameron didn’t give up, and on December 19, Fox reported that two of the libraries that had previously denied him have “caved” and will “move forward” with Cameron’s story hour. One of these libraries is in Scarsdale, New York, and the other is in Indianapolis, Indiana. Cameron told Fox: “I’m happy that the two libraries changed their decision and will allow my voice to be heard and my book to be read.” It probably helped that he is a celebrity and that he indicated he was “prepared to assert my rights in court.” It remains to be seen whether more libraries will change their tune as well.

Public-school enrollment continues its downward trend for the 2022-2023 school year. In her monthly subscriber email, Kerry McDonald of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) showed that public school districts “from Austin to Minneapolis, and Los Angeles to New York City are reporting enrollment declines this academic year.” According to Stanford University education professor, Thomas Dee, “current enrollment data indicate that a broad return to public schools simply did not happen.” A November 30 article in the Washington Post reported that “since 2019, private enrollment is up, public enrollment is down, and home schooling has become more popular.” A related article on Republican Nation.com showed that home schooling’s not just for conservatives anymore. “Leftist reasons for homeschooling may be different from conservatives,” the article states, but parents of every political leaning and background [have] accepted homeschooling responsibilities as the new normal.” The Post cited a variety of reasons for public school enrollment declines, starting of course, with the pandemic. The newspaper solicited comments from respondents on why they had removed their children from their public schools, and those they saw fit to quote predictably made generally positive comments. Yet all planned to keep their children in their new schools. One parent gave the most telling reasons: “First, we are very committed to our religious convictions. Our children memorize Bible verses each week; administrators and teachers use every opportunity to show how the Bible informs our lives ... Second, we love that our school partners with us in education. They see themselves as helpers of a parent’s obligation to train children. So we work in tandem to best meet each child’s needs. Third, we love the actual pedagogical method employed at our school, which differs substantially from public school.” FEE’s McDonald observes that many parents — and teachers — have no desire to return to public schools. She says many “have discovered better alternatives for themselves and their children” over the past two years and are not going back.

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