U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., wants a warning label slapped on children's television programming that contains lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender characters, or any discussion of issues relating to gender or sexuality.
In a letter sent to the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board, Braun and four other Republican senators urge the board to update its TV rating guidelines to ensure they "help inform parents on this disturbing content."
Braun claims in his letter that "concerning topics of a sexual nature have become aggressively politicized and promoted in children's programming" and "it is wholly inappropriate to display this content in a TV-Y7 category and for other young audiences."
The Hoosier senator does not actually identify in his letter any television shows that he believes are promoting LGBTQ content, and his office did not respond to a request for comment from The Times seeking such a list.
Instead, echoing Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Braun claims a Disney executive who said future Disney programs will include more LGBTQ characters is proof Disney and other entertainment enterprises are damaging "parental rights."
"To the detriment of children, gender dysphoria has become sensationalized in the popular media and television with radical activists and entertainment companies," Braun said.
"The motivations of hypersexualized entertainment producers striving to push this content on young audiences are suspect at best and predatory at worst."
Braun, of late, has been particularly focused on transgender issues, characterizing gender-affirming surgeries as "almost grotesque" during a Senate committee hearing Wednesday with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
The senator also expressed concern about the off-label use of puberty blocking and hormone therapy drugs for gender transition purposes, despite a recent official opinion by Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita inviting Indiana health care providers to prescribe medication for an off-label use when they judge it's medically appropriate for their patients, so long as the patient is aware of any risks.
Drew Anderson, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party, described Braun's letter and committee grandstanding as a "partisan stunt."
"There should be a warning label put up every time Mike Braun goes on TV because his antics are more about extreme partisanship and debunked conspiracies than actually creating a better future for all Hoosiers," Anderson said.
"Mike Braun sure seems to care a lot about other people's love lives — from telling LGBTQ Hoosiers how they should act to believing that interracial marriages should be voided. Democrats join with the majority of Hoosiers and Americans in telling Mike Braun: Get a life!"
Records show the voluntary TV Parental Guidelines direct television programmers to apply the TV-Y and TV-Y7 ratings only to shows designed for a very young audience, with TV-Y7 programs allowing for more mild fantasy and comedic violence.
According to the guidelines, sexual content only is permissible beginning at the TV-G rating, which should have little to no sexual dialogue.
The guidelines authorize TV-PG programs to have some sexual content or suggestive dialogue, TV-14 may feature intensely suggestive dialogue or sexual situations, and TV-MA programs are not intended for children under age 17.
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