Did I mention that John Moore (R-Brandon) is a Republican? Silly me. I know the meme out there is that the GOP is trying to ignore the social conservatives when it comes to gays (see GOProud chasing FRC, and Porno Pete from CPAC). Even if that stretch is true, it’s not much of a big tent when a whole wing of the party is full of color-aroused dog whistles or flat-out naked racist bigotry. (Think Progress):
Rep. John Moore, R-Brandon, has filed a bill to repeal the law nearly every year since 2006. Moore, who lives in a suburb of Jackson, said he wants to know who will write the textbooks and craft the materials students will be taught.
“I want schools to be teaching my grandchildren to read, write a complete sentence and do math,” Moore said. “I just want to make sure it’s teaching the truth and facts and not being accusatory of one group of people or the other. I don’t want it to be somebody’s philosophical idea of what civil rights are.”
In dismissing civil rights history as “somebody’s philosophical idea” about “one group of people,” Moore is articulating exactly why such curriculum is necessary. Indeed, Moore’s derision of civil rights is not just relegated to history. In considering current policy, Moore refused to support including sexual orientation in the state’s anti-discrimination laws and expressly rebuked any type of affirmative action. Future Mississippi policymakers may have a different perspective of discrimination if they understand its history from an early age.
