'Don't Say Gay' Bill Would Keep Florida Schools From Teaching Pulse Shooting
Newsweek. "It sends a terrible message to our youth that if they are LGBTQ, it's not OK."The bill, which Smith and other opponents have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill, would prohibit school districts from "encouraging classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students."Smith said the bill is particularly troubling in a state where there have been tragic hate crimes committed against those in the LGBTQ community, including the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.The mass shooting, in which 49 people were killed and another 53 wounded 53, was the deadliest incident in the history of violence against LGBTQ people in the U.S.
and marked the deadliest attack in the country since 9/11."I represent a House District in Orlando," Smith said. "Forty-nine, mostly LGBTQ people of color, were murdered at Pulse nightclub and some of their descendants, nieces, nephews, family members, and neighbors are children in our schools.""These kids still have questions about what happened," he said. "For those who are too young to remember, conversation about the history of our community, as it relates to Pulse nightclub, are inextricably linked to sexual orientation and gender identity.
You can't have a conversation about the history of our community as it relates to the Pulse tragedy without having a conversation about the LGBTQ community."Smith said one of the biggest issues he has with the "Don't Say Gay" bill is that supporters of the proposal often assume that the bill is targeting sex education curriculums, rather than general classroom discussions that he believes would benefit children coming.
