Tipsheet

Adam Schiff Claims Republicans Are the Ones Making 'LGBT, Trans Youth' An Issue

Democrat Sen. Adam Schiff (CA) is once again deflecting responsibility as he weighs in on the Maryland Supreme Court case involving sexually explicit books in school libraries, claiming it's Republicans that's turning “LGBT or trans youth” into a political issue. Schiff’s comments follow a pattern of the Left framing any parental concern over age-inappropriate content as bigotry, rather than addressing legitimate questions about what children are being exposed to in taxpayer-funded schools.

During an appearance on HBO’s “Real Time” with host Bill Maher, Schiff said he believes parents should have reasonable accommodations if they object to specific materials, whether for religious or non-religious reasons, but claimed it’s the GOP who are “predominantly” making “LGBT or trans youth” the center of the culture war. 

“I want school to be a safe and nurturing place for everyone. And so, my number one priority is to make sure we’re not adding to the difficulty that LGBT or trans youth face right now, because they’re being used as the fulcrum of culture warfare,” he said. 

Schiff accused Republicans of attacking transgender people, arguing that the GOP is mainly the ones using transgender issues in political ads and campaigns. However, he admitted that Democrats haven't handled the topic wisely either.

“Looking down on people that puts people off, where they won’t consider you, they won’t vote for you, if people think that you condescend to them, then you’re toast. And I would say, on this issue of what books should be in school, first of all, I would want those — I would want [the] ‘Bobby’s Wedding’ book in my kids’ school, my kids went to public school. But if parents — other parents felt differently about their kid being taught from that book, I think that we should show some space and some grace with respect to those other parents. And I think we should make reasonable efforts to accommodate their interests, whether it’s religious or non-religious, in how their kids are taught,” he continued.