State Rep. Eric Lucero, R-Dayton, speaks from the steps of the Capitol in St. Paul during a Protect Kids rally hosted by Child Protection League Action on Sunday.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Last legislative session, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives included new comprehensive sexual education mandate language in the omnibus K-12 education finance bill. When the bill came to the House Floor, Rep. Eric Lucero, R-Dayton, gave a passionate speech opposing the bill.
Lucero’s commitment to this issue has drawn attention and several videos of his speech went viral on social media, having been viewed over 1.5 million times by people across the country. When Child Protection League Action organized a Protect Kids rally at the Minnesota State Capitol last Sunday, it invited Rep. Lucero to be the first speaker to address the large crowd of parents from across the state who were mobilized on the Capitol Mall.
“The new comprehensive sexual education mandate attempt by Democrats targeted at elementary age children includes teaching relationships involving diverse sexual orientations and gender identities,” Lucero said. “The bill language also creates a carve out permitting persons and community organizations who don’t have a teaching license into the classroom to teach sex content to our children and according to their website the largest provider of comprehensive sex education in Minnesota is Planned Parenthood. Parents across the state strongly oppose granting Planned Parenthood teaching access to their children.”
The bill containing the comprehensive sexual education language passed the House, with all Democrat voting yes and all Republicans voting no. The mandate language died in the Republican-controlled Senate, but Lucero said Democrats have indicated they intend to push hard to bring the mandate language back next legislative session.
“The truth is, children are a gift from the Lord,” Lucero said at the rally. “Let children be children! We are committed to fighting for truth, empowering parents, and protecting our children.”
Other speakers at the rally included Brian Walker from Pro-Life Action Ministries, Noah Maldonado from Students for Life of America, and Karen England from Capitol Resource Institute.
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