Maryland Governor Wes Moore was speaking figuratively Sunday when he called bans on certain kids’ library books tantamount to “castrating children,” but the Democrat just last month signed a bill that potentially allows the literal castration of kids.
Moore appeared on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” when the host and former Biden administration spokeswoman claimed that many parents and conservatives are trying to ban books about African American history from school libraries. Psaki was apparently referring to criticism of books pushing Critical Race Theory, which teaches that whites are oppressors and blacks, perpetual victims.
“I continue hearing people making the argument that we’re doing it because we want to prevent our students from having discomfort or guilt,” Moore said, adding that he believes conservatives actually want to prevent black children from understanding their own history.
“It’s not about making kids feel uncomfortable,” Moore said. “It’s about telling [African American] kids that they shouldn’t understand their own power. It’s castrating them. … Because if you know your history, you know your power.”
Examples abound of public schools around the country foisting Critical Race Theory on their students. In Philadelphia, an elementary school forced fifth-graders to celebrate “Black communism,” an elementary school in Cupertino, California, forced third-graders to deconstruct their racial identities, then rank themselves according to their “power and privilege,” and Buffalo Public Schools taught students that “all white people” are guilty of systemic racism and made kindergarteners watch a video of dead black children while warning them about “racist police and state-sanctioned violence.”
Moore is not the only Democrat to fight to keep books about Critical Race Theory in schools. But his choice of word “castrating” was ironic, given that as a candidate for governor he supported the passage of the Trans Health Equity Act, which promoted “gender-affirming” health care — potentially including chemical and surgical castration.
“‘Gender-affirming treatment’ may include treatment described in the current clinical standards of care for gender-affirming treatment published by the world Professional Association for Transgender Health,” read the bill he signed into law in May.
In September 2022, World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) chose to remove age requirements for gender-affirming treatment and surgery, which can include chemical and surgical castration. A draft version of WPATH’s guidelines recommended some sexual reassignment surgeries could start at age 15 or 17.