LANSING, Mich., November 2, 2021— State Rep. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) joined House Democrats by refusing to vote on HB 5097 after Rep. Cynthia Johnson (D-Detroit) was denied an opportunity to speak on the Floor regarding the bill.
Camilleri denounced both the legislation and the decision to silence a fellow Representative’s opportunity to address her colleagues. Rep. Johnson, a black woman, wished to speak on the bill, which aims to restrict the full and accurate teaching of race and gender in Michigan’s K-12 classrooms.
“If anything, today’s actions showed why our students need to have more difficult conversations about the impacts of bias in our society,” Camilleri said. “By restricting the voice of Michiganders who wished to speak on this bill, it shows the true nature of what the bill intends to do.”
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