Union Boss Randi Weingarten: Parental Rights Bills Are the ‘Way in Which Wars Start’

Randi Weingarten, union boss of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), said that parental rights bills such as the one recently signed into law in Florida are “the way in which wars start.”

“This notion – we’ve been very lucky in America, and we in some ways live in a bubble for a long time,” the president of the nation’s largest teachers’ union said on the April 14 episode of the Rick Smith Show — a left-wing, pro-union talk show. “This is propaganda. This is misinformation. This is the way in which wars start. This is the way in which hatred starts.”

AFT has been a consistent opponent of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and parental rights bills across the country. It was also instrumental in keeping schools shuttered and mask mandates in place throughout the coronavirus pandemic, leaving children with significant physical, social, and mental issues.

Florida and other states have passed laws that give parents greater access to school curriculums and information regarding their children as well as more streamlined avenues to request information from schools.

In what appears to be an attempt at saving face for having an anti-parent position, Weingarten told Fox News, “Educators welcome parent involvement in schools because our kids do best when teachers, parents and caregivers work together.”

She then went on to call the parents’ movement that has found electoral success across the country “vocal minorities,” attempting to delegitimize parental concern with school curriculums and policies.

“We have a lot to do to help kids recover and thrive this year after two years of an unprecedented pandemic,” Weingarten continued. “So rather than help us help our kids socially, academically and emotionally, these vocal minorities want to marginalize LGBTQ kids, censor teachers and ban books.”

It is unclear to which books she is referring, but the most prominent books conservatives seek to remove from schools are Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison and Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, which prominently feature depictions of pornography and pedophilia.

Breccan F. Thies is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @BreccanFThies.