North Fulton Today

Parents could soon have more control over what their children view on TV if a group of GOP senators gets its way.

Fox5Atlanta.com reports five republican senators are now pushing the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board for a response to its request that members update their rating system so that parents are warned in advance if a show includes an LGBTQ+ character.

Senators Roger Marshall, Mike Lee, Mike Braun, Steve Daines and Kevin Cramer all recently added their signatures to a letter penned to board chairman Charles Rivkin seeking a response by May 18 and calling for an in-person meeting with the board soon thereafter.

"In recent years, concerning topics of a sexual nature have become aggressively politicized and promoted in children’s programming, including irreversible and harmful experimental treatments for mental disorders like gender dysphoria," the letter reads. “To this end, we strongly urge you to update the TV Parental Guidelines and ensure they are up-to-date on best practices that help inform parents on this disturbing content."

As fuel for their pushback, the senators pointed to recent comments attributed to Disney General Entertainment Content president Karey Burke asserting she supports having "many, many, many LGBTQIA+ characters in our stories."

Video of Burke’s remarks were later posted on social media.

"This radical and sexual sensation not only harms children, but also destabilizes and damages parental rights," the letter continued.

The letter also took Disney to task over its ongoing war-of-words with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which came about after he signed a bill into law that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade.

In the aftermath, the company, long known as a powerful player in Florida politics, suspended its political donations in the state and LGBTQ advocates who work for the company criticized CEO Bob Chapek for what they characterized as his slow response speaking out against the bill.