GOP senators call for new TV rating for shows with LGBTQ characters

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Five Republican senators demand a new TV rating for shows that feature LGBTQ characters.
• The group includes Sens. Roger Marshall, Mike Lee, Mike Braun, Kevin Cramer, and Steve Daines.
• In a letter to the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board, the senators “strongly urged” to update its guidelines so parents can block their children from watching shows with “disturbing” content.

Five Republican senators demand a new TV rating created to ensure parents are aware of the “disturbing” content in shows that feature LGBTQ characters.

The group includes Sens. Roger Marshall from Kansas, Mike Lee from Utah, Mike Braun from Indiana, Kevin Cramer from North Dakota, and Steve Daines from Montana.

In a letter sent Wednesday to the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board, the senators wrote: “In recent years, concerning topics of a sexual nature have become aggressively politicized and promoted in children’s programming, including irreversible and harmful experimental treatments for mental disorders like gender dysphoria.”

The senators “strongly urged” the TV group’s chairman, Charles Rivkin, to update its guidelines so parents can block their children from watching shows with LGBTQ characters.

In late March, a Disney executive vowed that the company will do more to make its content more inclusive —  with more minorities and LGBTQ members as regular characters in its content by the end of 2022. The company-wide Zoom call meeting was later posted to Twitter.

The pledge made by Karey Burke, president of Disney’s General Entertainment Content, was part of the company’s “Reimagine Tomorrow” campaign.

The senator’s letter cited the video, calling Burke a “prominent executive” who made Disney’s intentions clear.

“To the detriment of children, gender dysphoria has become sensationalized in the popular media and television with radical activists and entertainment companies,” the letter stated. “This radical and sexual sensation not only harms children, but also destabilizes and damages parental rights.”

The letter, which sought a reply by May 18, also mentioned Disney’s opposition to the Parental Rights in Education law or the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill.

“In light of parents raising legitimate concerns on sexual orientation and gender identity content on their children’s TV shows, we expect the Board to fulfill its responsibility in updating the TV Parental Guidelines to reflect these concerns,” the letter said.

When asked by the Kansas City Star, Marshall’s office named four shows as specific examples of concern — Nickelodeon’s “Danger Force” and “The Loud House”, and Netflix’s “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” and the upcoming “Dead End: Paranormal Park.”

Source: New York Post