Barnegat Officials Take Stand Against New School Gender Equity Rules

BARNEGAT, NJ — The Barnegat Township Committee is taking a stand and voicing their strong opposition to new equity rules enacted by the state Board of Education, particularly as it relates to gender.

In August, the state Board of Education implemented the equity rules, which, among other changes, require schools that separate sex education by sex to do so by gender identity, remove gender-specific language like "boys and girls" and more, New Jersey Monitor reported.

Members of the committee took time at the most recent meeting to share their thoughts regarding the gender aspect, which also recently sparked controversy in the school district as they went to approve the curriculum for the upcoming school year. Read more: Curriculum Sparks Arguments At Special Barnegat School Board Meeting

Committee members praised the four no votes on the Barnegat Board of Education.

Committeeman Alfonso Cirulli, himself the source of controversy in 2019 when he, as mayor, called the LGBTQ political movement "an affront to almighty God," was one official who tore into the new rules, calling them "anti-science and unethical."

Cirulli read portions of a letter submitted to the state board by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a right-wing nonprofit that has published articles claiming that abortion increases breast cancer risk and linked vaccinations to autism, both of which have been discredited.

"Too often, these children are pressured into life-altering treatments that have little scientific evidence of their long-term safety and efficacy," Cirulli quoted from the letter, referring to gender-affirming treatment.

Puberty blockers, the most frequent treatment for youths diagnosed with gender dysphoria, were approved by the FDA in 1993 to treat precocious puberty in cisgender children and have minimal side effects and high efficacy. They are also fully reversible.

Another major issue committee members cited was concerns that parents' rights are being taken away in schools.

"The current New Jersey Board of Education's disruptive amendments will create an adversarial relationship between child and parent, parent and teacher, potentially fueling a dangerous and life-threatening environment," Cirulli said.

Committeeman Al Bille referenced President Dwight Eisenhower's famous speech on the negative influence of the military industrial complex.

"Today, we have another negative influence that threatens the destruction of the American family, whatever it is, and the elimination of parental authority and inherent natural rights," Bille said.

"Are we to hide behind our doors and let Murphy and Trenton tell us how to raise our children?" Bille continued. "Or do we send a message to Trenton that our children are our children, period."

"The parents need to stand up for what they believe is right and moral," said Deputy Mayor Joseph Marte.

Speaking strictly as a parent and grandparent, Mayor Pat Pipi said "I am disgusted and appalled."

He said that America was gearing up to "crumble from within" much like the fall of Rome, with differing views on social policies, consistent spending on wars, and taxation and inflation that have created "wide separation of the masses."

Pipi also said that the five school board members who voted to approve the curriculum were either influenced to do so by a higher command or truly believe in it, which he called "disturbing."

"If these liberal policies are allowed to expand any further, I feel this generation of children are going to need all the help that they can get," Pipi said.