Don't Say Gay bill

The law has drawn criticism from the White House, Disney employees and Hollywood. The governor has dismissed opponents as “woke.”

Mr. DeSantis argued that the law is a popular, common-sense measure limited in scope to the school curriculum. It will allow parents to opt out of counseling and mental health services and to sue school districts for any perceived violations. On Monday, Disney released a statement condemning the new law and urging lawmakers to repeal it or the courts to strike it down. The law could have far-reaching implications to children in other grades and without any connection to L.G.B.T.Q. issues. “This law doesn’t solve any problem that exists.” President Biden called the proposal “hateful.”

Surrounded by legislators, parents and young students, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Parental Rights in Education” bill, which critics dubbed the ...

“They don’t want to admit that they support a lot of the things that we’re protecting against,” DeSantis said Monday of the bill’s opponents. “Gov. DeSantis has launched a smear campaign to attack LGBTQ people and baselessly accuse us of being pedophiles,” Rep. Smith said. Some advocates note that Florida has a long history of attempting to discourage young people from “recruitment” into homosexuality. They support enabling schools to ‘transition’ students to a ‘different gender’ without the knowledge of the parent.” He’s said the measure will stop young students from being “sexualized” in the classroom. Instruction on those topics is not currently a part of the curriculum in the state’s kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. About 34% of voters oppose that ban, according to the poll. They’ve argued that when voters read the language of the seven-page bill, they come away in favor of its provisions. The White House is opposed to the legislation. When it was originally filed, the legislation restricted “classroom discussion” about gender identity and sexual orientation. “It’s just another part of human life.” weird?” said Iris Pupo, a senior at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg who participated in a rally against the measure earlier this year.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Monday that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in ...

“My Administration will continue to fight for dignity and opportunity for every student and family — in Florida and around the country,” Biden tweeted Monday. DeSantis signed the bill after a news conference held at the Classical Preparatory School in Spring Hill, about 46 miles (74 kilometers) north of Tampa. At the ceremony, several young children accompanied DeSantis and other politicians near the podium, with some holding signs bearing the governor's “Protect Children/Support Parents” slogan. “Nothing in the amendment was about outing a student. The law went into effect just days after DeSantis signed a separate bill that potentially restricts what books elementary schools can keep in their libraries or use for instruction. “Even worse, #DontSayGay sends a hateful message to our most vulnerable youth who simply need our support.” The legislation has pushed Florida and DeSantis, an ascending Republican and potential 2024 presidential candidate, to the forefront of the country's culture wars.

Florida's governor signed a bill that bans instruction dealing with sexual orientation kindergarten through third grade. Dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by ...

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Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed the so-called Don't Say Gay bill Monday, March 28, which is almost certain to prompt lawsuits as opponents ...

Equality Florida will defend the rights of all students to have a healthy environment to learn and thrive and for all parents to know their families are included and respected. He hid his agenda from the media and the public until the last moment, skulking onto a charter school campus that is exempt from the law and away from students who would protest his presence," Smith said. "I pushed back on this, as I wasn't going to allow staff to minimize our reach and message," Jack Petocz, the lead organizer, said. "LGBTQ youth in Florida deserve better. DeSantis also pushed back against critics of the legislation, saying: "I don't care what Hollywood says. "It's not something that's appropriate for any place, but especially not in Florida," he said.

Having conquered the Supreme Court, the GOP take aim at same-sex marriage, anti-discrimination laws, and even Pride.

On the contrary, there's a new escalation of attacks against gay rights that most Americans assume are inviolable The right to be out, the right to get married, the right to live your life safe from violence and discrimination are now all at risk. The Florida law uses the same provision to enforce the "don't say gay" bill by empowering parents to sue schools that allow LGBTQ staff and students to be out. So while there has been, rightfully, a great deal of attention paid in recent years to how Republicans have "turned to" attacks on trans people, having lost the gay rights battle, these moves by Republicans show that they don't, in fact, feel that their loss on gay rights is permanent. (And let's face it, teenagers already know the how-to part.) Events are based around themes like "Differences are Awesome" and "Creative Expression." Paxton's letter is riffing on the Republican fallacy that behaviors most people see as banal with regards to straight people — such as having a prom date or attending a wedding — become "sexual" when it involves LGBTQ people. They're also sending signals that they feel confident they can expand this war to the LG and B folks, as well. In reality, however, the bill is so broad and vague that it will likely be used to bully teachers and students from being out or acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ people. Since then, two of the justices who supported it have been replaced by Federalist Society-linked justices, who were picked in no small part to issue anti-LGBTQ decisions. Wade by pretending that they had no authority to block the "bounty hunter" provision that is being used to enforce the ban. The right-wing court's total power and utter impunity is, in fact, empowering Republicans to expand their war on LGBTQ rights. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia tipped her hand to this at a recent Donald Trump rally in Georgia, in which she bellowed that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg "and his husband can stay out of our girls' bathrooms." The court recently signed off on a Texas law that bans abortion in direct violation of Roe v. Proponents of the law continue to pretend that its limitations are narrow and only prohibit "teaching" young kids about sexuality.

Here's key wording in Florida's House Bill 1557, officially named the “Parental Rights in Education” bill.

Lines 119-128 and beyond: “Each school district shall adopt procedures for a parent to notify the principal, or his or her designee, regarding concerns under this paragraph at his or her student’s school and the process for resolving those concerns within 7 calendar days after notification by the parent. Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, called the process of hiring a special magistrate the “pathway for this to happen and much less cost than a lawsuit.” School officials say that every school district is examining existing programs and risk-management teams are trying to decide how to avoid violating the law. These provisions require school districts to create an opt-out procedure for parents regarding mental and physical health care services for their students. “This would really hamstring their ability to do that, particularly in K-3, and potentially silence discussions in other grades, depending on how teachers interpret the bill.” The measure also does not define “age-appropriate” but makes sure that in the early grades, where sex education is not taught, teachers will also not teach about gender identity. “What you will get are frivolous lawsuits,” said Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton, during Senate debate. The procedures may not prohibit parents from accessing any of their student’s education and health records created, maintained, or used by the school district.” School district personnel may not discourage or prohibit parental notification of and involvement in critical decisions affecting a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being. But some LGBTQ advocates worry that the provision could lead to schools outing gay or transgender kids to their parents, potentially exacerbating mental health challenges students already face. They say the law is intentionally vague, intended to suppress talk of gender inclusiveness in schools, intimidate teachers into avoiding the topic and target LGBTQ students. “Many of the people who helped whip this up have never actually read the bill,” DeSantis said.

The Florida measure rocketed to the forefront of national politics in recent months, drawing criticism from the LGBTQ community, Democrats and the White ...

Correction: This article was updated to correct that Iowa was one of the latest states to ban transgender athletes from playing sports according to their gender identity, not the first state. "So much attention has been on the Florida bill. The Arizona House on Thursday passed a similar bill that seeks to ban transgender children from playing sports alongside their peers, just three weeks after the state Senate passed it. The Alabama state Senate passed legislation making it a crime to provide gender reassignment medical services to transgender youth last month. Among the new signatories were United Airlines, Oracle and IHG Hotels & Resorts, which all represent tens of thousands of employees in Florida, according to Human Rights Campaign. Their signatures come as Disney faces sharp backlash for its initial silence on the Florida bill.

The bill restricts schools from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels.

'Don't Say Gay' bill becomes law in Florida. Bill opponents say it will harm LGBTQ children Florida’s governor signed a law opponents dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. It restricts schools from talking about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at Disney executives on Tuesday – one day after the Mouse House condemned the governor's signing of the ...

“The Walt Disney Company has come to be an increasingly uncomfortable place to work for those of us whose political and religious views are not explicitly progressive,” the letter said. DeSantis signed Florida HB 1557 into law on Monday despite critics who decried the measure as harmful and discriminatory. But two, I think that crossed the line,” DeSantis said at a press conference.