{"id":853866,"date":"2024-02-22T11:29:28","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T16:29:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glaad.org\/?post_type=gap&p=853866"},"modified":"2024-03-11T11:51:53","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T15:51:53","slug":"ryan-walters","status":"publish","type":"gap","link":"https:\/\/glaad.org\/gap\/ryan-walters\/","title":{"rendered":"Ryan Walters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2014Told<\/a> ABC News, \u201cwe\u2019re not going to lie to students. And we\u2019re not going to push a gender ideology.\u201d Walters\u2019 repeated false claims about \u201cgender ideology\u201d and \u201conly two genders\u201d conflict with the history of Two Spirit people in his own state, who have long recognized and honored multiple genders. Walters\u2019 comments also crucially fail to acknowledge Nex Benedict\u2019s Choctaw heritage and the impact of Walters\u2019 rhetoric and policies on Two Spirit, transgender, and gender nonconforming (2STGNC+) students like Nex.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Led<\/span><\/a> the Oklahoma State Board of Education in approving a permanent <\/span>rule change<\/span><\/a> that prohibits school districts and local schools from altering sex or gender designations in student records without the board\u2019s authorization and regardless of the will of the student or the consent of the student\u2019s guardians. <\/span>A lawsuit is pending in federal court<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Pinned<\/span><\/a> to his Twitter\/X profile is a promo for his interview with the <\/span>president<\/span><\/a> of <\/span>The Heritage Foundation<\/span><\/a>, a longstanding anti-LGBTQ national organization that continues to advocate against marriage equality and acceptance of transgender people, and has <\/span>promised<\/span><\/a> continued targeting of LGBTQ Americans and youth in public <\/span>education<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Says Edmond Public Schools is fighting to keep \u201c<\/span>pornography<\/span><\/a>\u201d in the classroom. <\/span>In fact<\/span><\/a>, Edmond’s Superintendent asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to intervene in an attempt by the Oklahoma Department of Education to ban two books from school library shelves: acclaimed novels <\/span>The Kite Runner<\/span><\/i> by Khaled Hosseini and <\/span>The Glass Castle<\/span><\/i> by Jeannette Walls. The Department of Education\u2019s Library Media Review Committee, to which Libs of TikTok founder Chaya Raichik was <\/span>appointed<\/span><\/a> as a member by Ryan Walters in January 2024 despite lack of credentials as an educator or librarian and who does not live in Oklahoma, decided both books are \u201cpornographic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Appointed<\/span><\/a> Chaya Raichik, the founder of anti-LGBTQ social media account Libs of TikTok, to a Library Media Advisory Committee at the Oklahoma State Department of Education. The Libs of TikTok account posts disinformation about LGBTQ people and allies, and the posts have reportedly preceded <\/span>dozens of bomb threats<\/span><\/a> to schools in Oklahoma as well as libraries and children\u2019s hospitals nationwide. Walters has expressed support for Raichik, describing her \u201ctremendous platform that will benefit Oklahoma students and their families.\u201d Apart from Raichik, the volunteer committee is made up of parents, current or retired librarians, and English literature teachers, according to the state Education Department. Raichick, a former real estate agent, is not an educator, is not an Oklahoma resident, and does not have children in any Oklahoma schools.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Sent<\/span><\/a> a memo to textbook publishers saying he will reject any books if they contain definitions or terms contrary to Gov. Kevin Stitt\u2019s executive <\/span>order<\/span><\/a> \u201cWomen\u2019s Bill of Rights.\u201d The narrow definitions in the governor\u2019s order exclude transgender, nonbinary, or intersex people. Without basis Walters said, \u201cRadical gender ideology has no place in our classrooms\u2026 The radical left\u2019s attempt to diminish women will not work in Oklahoma.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Appeared<\/a> in a State Board of Education-released video, opposing teachers’ unions and describing transgender students as a threat in schools: \u201cWe have injected radical gender theory into telling kids that they might be other genders. It\u2019s dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Advocates<\/span><\/a> for book bans and spreads disinformation about LGBTQ-inclusive books, falsely describing them as \u201cpornographic\u201d and that they \u201cpush transgenderism,\u201d a term frequently <\/span>weaponized<\/span><\/a> to diminish or <\/span>eliminate<\/span><\/a> transgender identity and the existence of transgender people throughout history. Additional book ban-related activities here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Investigated<\/span><\/a> the Western Heights Public Schools’ accreditation status over the hiring of an accredited school principal who performs in drag outside school hours, which is not illegal. Walters objected to and highlighted the principal\u2019s moonlighting in drag, and without basis called for a regulation that would allow educators to be fired for \u201cacts that excessively promote sexuality\u201d outside of work. The principal was asked to resign<\/a> after the school received bomb threats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Following his posts on X<\/span><\/a> that criticized one of the district\u2019s librarians, Union Public Schools, on the edge of Tulsa, reported that it has received bomb threats on six consecutive school days. Walters\u2019s post was a re-share from Libs of TikTok that altered the original caption.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Repeated<\/span><\/a> the debunked <\/span>lie<\/span><\/a> about \u201clitter boxes\u201d in school.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Tweeted<\/span><\/a> a black-and-white image of a female high school student washing her hands in a bathroom, while two other girls watch her suspiciously in the mirror. The image included the words \u201cStudent Safety Over Liberal Agenda.\u201d In the tweet itself, Walters wrote: \u201cI will always fight for students.\u201d <\/span>Research<\/span><\/a> shows transgender\u00a0 students face a higher risk of sexual assault in locker rooms and bathrooms that don’t match their gender identity, are <\/span>more likely<\/span><\/a> to miss school than other students, and are more likely to <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> feeling unsafe at school and being bullied.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014<\/span>Had Oklahoma taxpayers<\/span><\/a> fund travel expenses for speaking engagements and media appearances with anti-LGBTQ groups Moms for Liberty and Heritage Foundation, as well as a premiere for an anti-abortion horror movie. According to <\/span>The Frontier<\/span><\/i><\/a>, which reported it obtained the reimbursement forms, Walters expensed the trips despite an order from the Governor\u2019s office banning public spending for most out-of-state travel. Walters was reimbursed by the state for travel expenses to the Dallas movie premiere,\u00a0 for a trip to National Harbor, Maryland, to speak at a conference sponsored by <\/span>The Heritage Foundation<\/span><\/a>; for a speaking appearance at the anti-LGBTQ book banning group <\/span>Moms for Liberty<\/span><\/a> summit in Philadelphia; for an appearance as the keynote speaker at the anti-union <\/span>Freedom Foundation\u2019s Teachers for Freedom Summit<\/span><\/a>; for meetings with bookers from Fox News in Washington, DC; and for Washington, D.C., meetings and media appearances on right-wing talk shows affiliated with the conspiracy-laden <\/span>Epoch Times<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>The Heritage Foundation<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":435,"featured_media":853867,"template":"","categories":[139164,139171,138754,139170,138409],"tags":[140073,122005],"region":[138601],"hashtag":[138636,138638,138632,138637],"class_list":{"0":"post-853866","1":"gap","2":"type-gap","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"category-books-and-book-bans","7":"category-education","8":"category-gaps","9":"category-hate-extremism","10":"category-transgender","11":"tag-nex-benedict","12":"tag-oklahoma","13":"region-oklahoma","14":"hashtag-anti-transgender","15":"hashtag-law","16":"hashtag-politics","17":"hashtag-religion"},"aioseo_notices":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t