Just how much say should a parent have when it comes to their child’s exposure to transgenderism and gender ideology?
President Donald Trump’s Federal Communications Commission is taking a maximalist approach to answer the question about parental rights.
But if you were to ask dozens of Democratic lawmakers, the answer to the question is apparently, “As little as possible.”
Back in April, FCC Chair Brendan Carr began pushing for stricter — or at least more comprehensive — television ratings for children’s shows, to better inform parents about the shows’ contents as well as combat what is being called “ratings creep.”
Years ago, Congress passed a law that empowers parents to decide the types of TV programs that are appropriate for their kids by standing up a TV show ratings system.
But recently, parents have raised concerns with the industry’s approach—including with ratings creep.… pic.twitter.com/RvJAXc1Ur4
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) April 22, 2026
“Years ago, Congress passed a law that empowers parents to decide the types of TV programs that are appropriate for their kids by standing up a TV show ratings system,” Carr posted in April. “But recently, parents have raised concerns with the industry’s approach — including with ratings creep.”
He added, “Specifically, they argue that New York & Hollywood programmers are promoting controversial issues in kids programming without providing any transparency or disclosures to parents.”
Fast forward to Tuesday, where Carr and his FCC received a scathing letter from House Democrats about this move to strengthen television ratings.
“We are deeply concerned that the questions you pose, such as whether programs should be rated differently because they discuss gender identity, indicate that you believe there is a role for the FCC to play in determining these ratings,” the letter read.
The Democrats attempted to frame Carr’s concern for parental rights as government overreach — and bigotry.
“The rating system is intended to address ‘sexual, violent, or other indecent material,’ and we reject the idea that the inclusion of transgender characters or topics is ‘sexual, violent, or
indecent,’” the letter stated.
“Programs should not have higher ratings or content warning simply because of the identity of the programs’ characters. Applying higher ratings or content warnings because of a character’s gender identity would be harmful to transgender people and transgender acceptance and would harken back to a time when politicians sought to censor television programming because they included minorities.”
Some 68 Democrats would go on to sign the letter that curiously claims, “We strongly believe that parents should decide what their children watch on television.”
(Wouldn’t more transparency help parents make better decisions?)
And those 68 House Democrats were put on blast by Carr on Monday:
68 House Democrats have come out against transparency in children’s TV programming.
They oppose efforts that would allow parents to know when programs that are rated as appropriate for kids are pushing a radical gender ideology.
Why not let parents decide ? pic.twitter.com/8Ytc203cGY
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) June 22, 2026
“68 House Democrats have come out against transparency in children’s TV programming,” Carr posted. “They oppose efforts that would allow parents to know when programs that are rated as appropriate for kids are pushing a radical gender ideology.”
“Why not let parents decide ?”
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