State Sen. Will Barfoot (R-Pike Road) was one of the lawmakers instrumental in passing the state's DEI ban that went into effect last October. He and other Republicans became the target of ridicule over the bill, accused of having racist intentions. However, on a recent episode of "1819 News: The Podcast," Barfoot said that could not be further from the truth.
"[T]hat legislation, to me, was very common sense," he said. "It was that we shouldn't be teaching our young people, our children, that because you're a certain race or gender, that you're any less than somebody else or that you should feel like that you shoulder any blame for any past historical events. And the truth of the matter is, is, you know, we got beat up, and said, 'Well, you don't want to teach history.' And I said, 'No, quite the contrary. I think we should teach it all the good, the bad and the ugly'... There's plenty of all of it to go around, right? But I don't think that we should ostracize or alienate any child, indoctrinate them from the standpoint that because they're a certain race or because they're a certain religion, that they're less than their peers. And unfortunately, that was being done."
He continued, "It was amazing to me that the number of people who push back on that, and I thought it was very common sense. And I asked a couple of those folks, I said... have you read it? 'No, I haven't read it. I've seen, you know, something on the news about it.' And I said, 'Well, I'll send you a copy of it... Now, you point out to me what you don't agree with in there. And every one of them, after they read it, said to me, 'Gosh, I didn't realize that. That seems like common sense.' I said, it does, doesn't it? So... we've been able to make some headway at the state level. And, of course, that's been a national issue, one that President Trump has been pushing for even from his first term. So, I think you've seen some changes in that and hopefully they'll hold steady."
Since the ban took effect, many public institutions have disbanded their DEI programs and departments, while others have simply changed their names in an apparent attempt to circumvent the new law. Barfoot said any law is only as good as the people willing to enforce it, but whether DEI, drugs, or men in women's sports, it comes down to issues of the heart.
"I'll say this, and not just with that legislation, but what I've become keenly aware as I've gotten older is that you can have all the ink and all the paper in the world and you can craft the best legislation, but ultimately, if you don't have those enforcing it, then you have a problem," Barfoot explained. "And even deeper than that, quite honestly, you know, it's a problem of the heart, and we can't control that. The legislature can't control that. Quite honestly, the only one who can change that is the Holy Spirit working on somebody."
He added, "Things have changed so rapidly just in the past 20 years. And I'm afraid for our children, where we're going to be in another 20 years."
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