LGC 15.3 - The Protect Children's Mental Health Act (Statute)

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

The Protect Children's Innocence Act

To protect the innocence of children

1. Modifies Section 3 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act to make every citizen of the Lincoln region over the age of 18 instead of 16 to have the right to have their gender officially rectified in official documents expedited by the
Lincoln Region, and citizens ages 13 to 18 instead of 13 to 16 to have this right, but they need prior parental consent.
2. The practice of puberty blockers and hormone therapy on citizens of the Lincoln region under the age of 18 is hereby banned in the Lincoln Region, with the exception of children who are using puberty blockers and hormone therapy
before this bill's passage.
3. Repeals Sections 8 and 12 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act.
4. Children under the age of 18 who play in sports teams shall be assigned to teams based off of their sex at birth.
5. Children under the age of 18 shall be forbidden from having access to social media without prior parental consent.
6. Social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to verify the age of a citizen seeking to open a social media account.
7. If the age of the citizen is under 18, social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to obtain parental consent before allowing the citizen to open a social media account.
8. The concepts of gender identity and sexual orientation shall be prohibited from being taught to grades Kindergarten through 5th Grade in public schools in the Lincoln region.
9. This bill shall take effect the day after it is either signed into law by the governor, or the governor's veto is overridden.

Sponsor: BigZuck
Slot #3

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

I will strongly oppose this. A major reason I left the south was because they were passing increasingly reactionary culture war legislation, and I will not support any sort of opening of the door to that happening here.

[Sirius_]

This smells like big government communism to me

[Mechavada]

I will strongly oppose this. A major reason I left the south was because they were passing increasingly reactionary culture war legislation, and I will not support any sort of opening of the door to that happening here.

Seconded

[BigZuck08]

BigZuck08 Statement on the Protect Children's Innocence Act:

"Today I encourage the Lincoln General Court to support the Protect Children's Innocence Act. I have heard concerns claiming that this bill is "reactionary", and it "targets LGBTQ+ rights". But protecting young, unstable minds who are not ready to handle topics that can be brought up on social media such as gender identity and sexual orientation is not the same as targeting the rights of an entire sexual orientation. A lot of children, not just in Lincoln, but across Atlasia, can very easily access content that is age inappropriate and that their minds simply cannot handle. Viewing this content can lead some kids to self-diagnose themselves with certain mental disorders, such as depression, anxiety, and gender dysphoria. Some of this content can even lead to suicide. What makes matters worse is that these kids can even access this content without parental permission. Some parents may not know what content their kid is actually consuming. This is why this bill would put pressure on social media companies in Lincoln to receive proof of parental permission before children can access social media. Another section of this bill would ban puberty blockers and hormone therapy from being performed on children. I have heard arguments that these are completely safe for children. However, there is not yet enough information scientifically to determine whether or not these are actually safe for children to use. This is why this bill would put a pause on performing puberty blockers and hormone therapy onto bodies of young, unstable minds. Thus, I encourage the entire Lincoln General Court to support this bill. Thank you."

[DKrol]

This bill is filled with fear and hatred. Lincoln is a bastion of inclusion and freedom for all Atlasians - straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and beyond. This bill would set back the rights of Atlasian citizens decades and cause irreversible harm to many young people.

As a gay man, I know that I suffered because of a lack of acceptance, awareness, and education during my formational years. I would hate to see any young person deal with those same thoughts and emotions, feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and being an outsider. We should be supporting our youth in discovering who they are and making peace that they are made in God’s loving image, rather than ostracizing them as “other”. The sponsor says that learning about and being made comfortable with LGBTQ topics can lead to suicide. I know from experience that NOT learning, understanding, and accepting these feelings also leads to suicide.

I will be strongly opposing this bill and urge all of my colleagues to do the same.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Hello guys, it's your friend from the other side of the Mississippi. I'm going to put it point-blank: If this bill were an IRL law that were to pass, it would directly lead to the deaths of real kids. I wish I were being hyperbolic, I wish I were being over-dramatic, but I'm just going to be frank about it. While I am luckily not in this group, and no child should be encouraged to off themselves for any reason, the group of minors in this country on HRT and puberty blockers who would literally rather shoot themselves than undergo the traumatic experience of forced non-transitioning is, unfortunately, larger than you think it is.

Even assuming that nobody would hurt themselves as a direct result of this bill passing, in game or in the real world, the simple restriction of puberty blockers to the region's youth is unnecessary and will lead to orders of magnitude more harm than good. Puberty blockers will not turn your child into one of the opposite sex. Puberty blockers will not turn your child into a eunuch. Puberty blockers are, and I cannot stress this enough, a pause button. It is an essential part of the process of letting gender questioning youth make mature, informed decisions about what they want out of their bodies when they're more capable of a rational and forward-looking decision. If the child decides that they're not transgender, and wishes to go through the puberty that God assigned for them, they can do that. I cannot stress enough how that creates far more harm reduction than causing them to go through the mental anguish and psychological stress caused by forcing a transgender child to undergo their assigned sex's puberty because that's "just how things are."

And that's just my counter-argument for the first two sentences of this bill. The inevitable mental health crises that will be caused by forcing Lincolnite children to not know that same-gender relationships are as healthy and morally acceptable as opposite-gender ones, shutting children off from reaching online resources to escape abusive households, and forcing trans youth in Lincoln to be treaten like second-class citizens is not something that your region has the infrastructure for. Unless you propose an increase in resources for anti-bullying and suicide prevention, I strongly advise my neighbors to the east to reject this bill. Take it from a non-binary person who has over half a decade in experience talking with transgender and gender-questioning people.

[Sirius_]

Koopa and Dkrol really hit the nail on the head, but I will add that, although my earlier comment was mostly in jest I do consider this to be a form of government overreach. The state is not the best body to make these decisions, especially not with such broad blanket policies. What medications a trans minor should pursue, whether it's appropriate for a trans person to play on a sports team, or whether a minor is able to use social media responsibly can all be decided by the relevant parties, and the answers will be different from case to case. I also don't think that acknowledgement of lgbt identities in school is harmful, I don't think anyone is suggesting to present gratuitous sexual details to children but a basic acknowledgement is no worse than the hetero romance and gender norms children are constantly exposed to.

[BigZuck08]

BigZuck08 Response:

"I have just became aware of recent criticisms of my bill. Some of it make valid points, others are just plain misinformation. One thing I would like to touch on is a claim that this bill would "force Lincolnite children to not know that same-gender relationships are as healthy and morally acceptable as opposite-gender ones". - This bill would prohibit the discussion of ANYTHING related to gender identity and sexual orientation between grades kindergarten and fifth grade in public schools, even if it is heterosexual. So the idea that the bill would teach Lincolnite children that gay relationships are not as healthy as straight ones is misinformation.

I am going to address more claims below:

"Puberty blockers will not turn your child into one of the opposite sex. Puberty blockers will not turn your child into a eunuch. Puberty blockers are, and I cannot stress this enough, a pause button." - This is true, but however, puberty blockers have not yet proven to be 100% safe on kids. One side effect that puberty blockers can cause on children is that it can weaken bones, which are essential to growth in children.

"This bill is filled with fear and hatred. Lincoln is a bastion of inclusion and freedom for all Atlasians - straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and beyond. This bill would set back the rights of Atlasian citizens decades and cause irreversible harm to many young people."
- Now under normal circumstances this bill would cause harm to many non-conforming gender youth, but this bill tackles the root of the problem, which is social media. Most non-conforming gender youth get the idea that they have gender dysphoria from social media influencers. And it's not just gender dysphoria. They can also get depression, anxiety, and can even lead to suicide. Also, this bill would not set back the rights of Atlasian citizens, adults will still have the right to transition even if this bill is passed.


"...shutting children off from reaching online resources to escape abusive households, and forcing trans youth in Lincoln to be treaten like second-class citizens is not something that your region has the infrastructure for. Unless you propose an increase in resources for anti-bullying and suicide prevention..." - Actually, under this bill, schools will still be able to teach students to report parental abuse, so the bill has nothing to do with interfering with such manners. You do, however, make a valid point on proposing an increase in resources for anti-bullying and suicide prevention, thus I propose the following amendment:

The Protect Children's Innocence Act

To protect the innocence of children

1. Modifies Section 3 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act to make every citizen of the Lincoln region over the age of 18 instead of 16 to have the right to have their gender officially rectified in official documents expedited by the
Lincoln Region, and citizens ages 13 to 18 instead of 13 to 16 to have this right, but they need prior parental consent.
2. The practice of puberty blockers and hormone therapy on citizens of the Lincoln region under the age of 18 is hereby banned in the Lincoln Region, with the exception of children who are using puberty blockers and hormone therapy
before this bill's passage.
3. Repeals Sections 8 and 12 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act.
4. Children under the age of 18 who play in sports teams shall be assigned to teams based off of their sex at birth.
5. Children under the age of 18 shall be forbidden from having access to social media without prior parental consent.
6. Social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to verify the age of a citizen seeking to open a social media account.
7. If the age of the citizen is under 18, social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to obtain parental consent before allowing the citizen to open a social media account.
8. The concepts of gender identity and sexual orientation shall be prohibited from being taught to grades Kindergarten through 5th Grade in public schools in the Lincoln region.
9. The regional government of the Lincoln region shall give every school district within the region a $500,000 investment for the school districts to invest into anti-bullying and suicide prevention resources in all schools.
10. This bill shall take effect the day after it is either signed into law by the governor, or the governor's veto is overridden.

[Sirius_]

Is there a valid justification for banning discussion of anything straight or gay rather than allowing them both when most children are already exposed to these topics simply by having two parents, let alone by the media they consume?

[BigZuck08]

Is there a valid justification for banning discussion of anything straight or gay rather than allowing them both when most children are already exposed to these topics simply by having two parents, let alone by the media they consume?

"This bill does not ban the discussion of such topics entirely, but rather only bans discussion of it in public schools between kindergarten to fifth grade. The parents should decide how they want to educate their young child on such topics their own way, even if we disapprove of the ways they do it."

[DKrol]

Students are “exposed” to such topics on a daily basis. They’re taught from Day One that Mrs. Smith is married and Ms. Jones is not. No one has suggested we adopt marriage-neutral terms for school teachers. No one on the right has ever expressed a concern about children learning about heterosexual couples - they only couch their homophobic views behind blankets of banning all gender discussion to avoid being called out. The provisions of this bill only serve to ostracize and villainize an already vulnerable portion of our population.

[BigZuck08]

Students are “exposed” to such topics on a daily basis. They’re taught from Day One that Mrs. Smith is married and Ms. Jones is not. No one has suggested we adopt marriage-neutral terms for school teachers. No one on the right has ever expressed a concern about children learning about heterosexual couples - they only couch their homophobic views behind blankets of banning all gender discussion to avoid being called out. The provisions of this bill only serve to ostracize and villainize an already vulnerable portion of our population.

"With all due respect Mr. DKrol, my intent here is to not villanize the LGBTQ+ community. I apologize if that seems like my intent from your perspective. My intent here is to make our young kids more focused on the things they should be focused about. When they enter school, they should be being taught social studies, they should be being taught science, they should be being taught math, they should not be being taught about any form of gender identity or sexual orientation topics until they reach a more mature age. Also, most people on the right I know are not homophobic. There are some parents out there who are, however, and I condemn homophobia in all forms, but most people on the right I know are not homophobic."

[DKrol]

Schools exist for many purposes. Yes, they exist to teach reading, writing, math, history, etc. But they also exist to teach our young kids how to interact with other people, how to behave in public, how to make friends, and many more social aspects. Schools are not just factories for academic development, they are breeding grounds for social development. The provisions of this bill, despite the cheery tones being applied by the sponsor, will stunt that development, leading to regression in many children and hurting their long-term personal and social development.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

24 hours to object to the amendment.

[BigZuck08]

Schools exist for many purposes. Yes, they exist to teach reading, writing, math, history, etc. But they also exist to teach our young kids how to interact with other people, how to behave in public, how to make friends, and many more social aspects. Schools are not just factories for academic development, they are breeding grounds for social development. The provisions of this bill, despite the cheery tones being applied by the sponsor, will stunt that development, leading to regression in many children and hurting their long-term personal and social development.

"You are accurate about how schools are breeding grounds for social development as well. But however, this bill does not ban the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools in its entirety, only for the earlier grades. Once the students hit 6th grade, they will start to learn about such topics. Now if the bill were to ban the discussion entirely from the classroom, I would understand. But the bill doesn't do that. Also, the bill does not ban the instruction of social aspects entirely, and gender identity and sexual orientation have nothing to do with properly behaving in public and have little to do with making friends."

[DKrol]

I propose the following amendment:

The Protect Children's Innocence Mental Health Act

To protect the innocence mental health of children

1. Modifies Section 3 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act to make every citizen of the Lincoln region over the age of 18 instead of 16 to have the right to have their gender officially rectified in official documents expedited by the
Lincoln Region, and citizens ages 13 to 18 instead of 13 to 16 to have this right, but they need prior parental consent.
2. The practice of puberty blockers and hormone therapy on citizens of the Lincoln region under the age of 18 is hereby banned in the Lincoln Region, with the exception of children who are using puberty blockers and hormone therapy
before this bill's passage.
3. Repeals Sections 8 and 12 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act.
4. Children under the age of 18 who play in sports teams shall be assigned to teams based off of their sex at birth.
5. Children under the age of 18 shall be forbidden from having access to social media without prior parental consent.
6. Social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to verify the age of a citizen seeking to open a social media account.
7. If the age of the citizen is under 18, social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to obtain parental consent before allowing the citizen to open a social media account.
8. The concepts of gender identity and sexual orientation shall be prohibited from being taught to grades Kindergarten through 5th Grade in public schools in the Lincoln region.
9. The regional government of Lincoln shall allocate to every school district within the region a $500,000 grant for the school district to invest into anti-bullying and suicide prevention resources for all students.
10. 2. This bill shall take effect the day after it is either signed into law by the governor, or the governor's veto is overridden.

[Vice President Christian Man]

I think this is a good bill overall which addresses the increasing cultural Marxism that has been targeting the next generation, although I have a few objections that I believe the senator from Pennsylvania should address;

A. Section 3 #8 should remain banned for the same reason I oppose educators entertaining the idea that a questioning child may be trans.
B. What would repealing Section 3 #12 look like. If a child comes out as trans then school officials should respect their decision even if they personally disagree. This looks like a bill that could indirectly lead to an increase of bullying and harassment which I would oppose.
B. Section 4; this should be a local decision.
C. How would sections 5-7 be enforced? I didn't get an official government ID until after my 18th birthday, would I be banned from social media as a default? And plus anyone can lie about their age on social media so I don't see how it would be enforceable without pulling out in Lincoln.

[BigZuck08]

I propose the following amendment:

The Protect Children's Innocence Mental Health Act

To protect the innocence mental health of children

1. Modifies Section 3 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act to make every citizen of the Lincoln region over the age of 18 instead of 16 to have the right to have their gender officially rectified in official documents expedited by the
Lincoln Region, and citizens ages 13 to 18 instead of 13 to 16 to have this right, but they need prior parental consent.
2. The practice of puberty blockers and hormone therapy on citizens of the Lincoln region under the age of 18 is hereby banned in the Lincoln Region, with the exception of children who are using puberty blockers and hormone therapy
before this bill's passage.
3. Repeals Sections 8 and 12 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act.
4. Children under the age of 18 who play in sports teams shall be assigned to teams based off of their sex at birth.
5. Children under the age of 18 shall be forbidden from having access to social media without prior parental consent.
6. Social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to verify the age of a citizen seeking to open a social media account.
7. If the age of the citizen is under 18, social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to obtain parental consent before allowing the citizen to open a social media account.
8. The concepts of gender identity and sexual orientation shall be prohibited from being taught to grades Kindergarten through 5th Grade in public schools in the Lincoln region.
9. The regional government of Lincoln shall allocate to every school district within the region a $500,000 grant for the school district to invest into anti-bullying and suicide prevention resources for all students.
10. 2. This bill shall take effect the day after it is either signed into law by the governor, or the governor's veto is overridden.

I object to this amendment.

[BigZuck08]

I think this is a good bill overall which addresses the increasing cultural Marxism that has been targeting the next generation, although I have a few objections that I believe the senator from Pennsylvania should address;

A. Section 3 #8 should remain banned for the same reason I oppose educators entertaining the idea that a questioning child may be trans.
B. What would repealing Section 3 #12 look like. If a child comes out as trans then school officials should respect their decision even if they personally disagree. This looks like a bill that could indirectly lead to an increase of bullying and harassment which I would oppose.
B. Section 4; this should be a local decision.
C. How would sections 5-7 be enforced? I didn't get an official government ID until after my 18th birthday, would I be banned from social media as a default? And plus anyone can lie about their age on social media so I don't see how it would be enforceable without pulling out in Lincoln.

For A: "I only supported unbanning 8 because if people want to attend non-government funded conversion therapy programs, they should be able to."
For B: "I am open to an amendment possibly repealing section 4 and modifying section 3 to repeal the part about repealing section 12 of the LGBTI Rights Defense Act."
For C: "So if social media companies don't follow along with the requirements, they will be met with financial consequence. I'm thinking a fine of $100,000 would suffice. As for the lying part, social media companies would have to require a email of a parent/guardian in all cases. Social media companies would reach out to this email asking for permission from the parent. If the email responds and grants permission, the person is granted an account. If they don't, then the person is not granted an account. I should've mentioned this in the original bill and I apologize for the confusion."

[DKrol]

24 hours to object to the amendment.

I object to the amendment.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Votes on both amendments begin now and will continue for 48 hours or until all deputies have voted.

[BigZuck08]

BigZuck08 Response:

"I have just became aware of recent criticisms of my bill. Some of it make valid points, others are just plain misinformation. One thing I would like to touch on is a claim that this bill would "force Lincolnite children to not know that same-gender relationships are as healthy and morally acceptable as opposite-gender ones". - This bill would prohibit the discussion of ANYTHING related to gender identity and sexual orientation between grades kindergarten and fifth grade in public schools, even if it is heterosexual. So the idea that the bill would teach Lincolnite children that gay relationships are not as healthy as straight ones is misinformation.

I am going to address more claims below:

"Puberty blockers will not turn your child into one of the opposite sex. Puberty blockers will not turn your child into a eunuch. Puberty blockers are, and I cannot stress this enough, a pause button." - This is true, but however, puberty blockers have not yet proven to be 100% safe on kids. One side effect that puberty blockers can cause on children is that it can weaken bones, which are essential to growth in children.

"This bill is filled with fear and hatred. Lincoln is a bastion of inclusion and freedom for all Atlasians - straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and beyond. This bill would set back the rights of Atlasian citizens decades and cause irreversible harm to many young people."
- Now under normal circumstances this bill would cause harm to many non-conforming gender youth, but this bill tackles the root of the problem, which is social media. Most non-conforming gender youth get the idea that they have gender dysphoria from social media influencers. And it's not just gender dysphoria. They can also get depression, anxiety, and can even lead to suicide. Also, this bill would not set back the rights of Atlasian citizens, adults will still have the right to transition even if this bill is passed.


"...shutting children off from reaching online resources to escape abusive households, and forcing trans youth in Lincoln to be treaten like second-class citizens is not something that your region has the infrastructure for. Unless you propose an increase in resources for anti-bullying and suicide prevention..." - Actually, under this bill, schools will still be able to teach students to report parental abuse, so the bill has nothing to do with interfering with such manners. You do, however, make a valid point on proposing an increase in resources for anti-bullying and suicide prevention, thus I propose the following amendment:

The Protect Children's Innocence Act

To protect the innocence of children

1. Modifies Section 3 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act to make every citizen of the Lincoln region over the age of 18 instead of 16 to have the right to have their gender officially rectified in official documents expedited by the
Lincoln Region, and citizens ages 13 to 18 instead of 13 to 16 to have this right, but they need prior parental consent.
2. The practice of puberty blockers and hormone therapy on citizens of the Lincoln region under the age of 18 is hereby banned in the Lincoln Region, with the exception of children who are using puberty blockers and hormone therapy
before this bill's passage.
3. Repeals Sections 8 and 12 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act.
4. Children under the age of 18 who play in sports teams shall be assigned to teams based off of their sex at birth.
5. Children under the age of 18 shall be forbidden from having access to social media without prior parental consent.
6. Social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to verify the age of a citizen seeking to open a social media account.
7. If the age of the citizen is under 18, social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to obtain parental consent before allowing the citizen to open a social media account.
8. The concepts of gender identity and sexual orientation shall be prohibited from being taught to grades Kindergarten through 5th Grade in public schools in the Lincoln region.
9. The regional government of the Lincoln region shall give every school district within the region a $500,000 investment for the school districts to invest into anti-bullying and suicide prevention resources in all schools.
10. This bill shall take effect the day after it is either signed into law by the governor, or the governor's veto is overridden.

I vote aye on this amendment.

I propose the following amendment:

The Protect Children's Innocence Mental Health Act

To protect the innocence mental health of children

1. Modifies Section 3 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act to make every citizen of the Lincoln region over the age of 18 instead of 16 to have the right to have their gender officially rectified in official documents expedited by the
Lincoln Region, and citizens ages 13 to 18 instead of 13 to 16 to have this right, but they need prior parental consent.
2. The practice of puberty blockers and hormone therapy on citizens of the Lincoln region under the age of 18 is hereby banned in the Lincoln Region, with the exception of children who are using puberty blockers and hormone therapy
before this bill's passage.
3. Repeals Sections 8 and 12 of the LGBTI Rights Defence Act.
4. Children under the age of 18 who play in sports teams shall be assigned to teams based off of their sex at birth.
5. Children under the age of 18 shall be forbidden from having access to social media without prior parental consent.
6. Social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to verify the age of a citizen seeking to open a social media account.
7. If the age of the citizen is under 18, social media companies within the Lincoln region shall be required to obtain parental consent before allowing the citizen to open a social media account.
8. The concepts of gender identity and sexual orientation shall be prohibited from being taught to grades Kindergarten through 5th Grade in public schools in the Lincoln region.
9. The regional government of Lincoln shall allocate to every school district within the region a $500,000 grant for the school district to invest into anti-bullying and suicide prevention resources for all students.
10. 2. This bill shall take effect the day after it is either signed into law by the governor, or the governor's veto is overridden.

I object to this amendment.

I vote nay on this amendment.

[GM Team Member and Senator WB]

Nay on the bigzuck amendment, aye on the dkrol amendment

[DKrol]

Nay on the BigZuck amendment.

Aye on the DKrol amendment.