Florida governor signs ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill into law
On Monday, March 28, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed the so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill into law. The legislation officially known as the Parental Rights in Education bill has been widely criticised for being anti-LGBTQ+ as it restricts “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity” for students in kindergarten up to third grade.The bill also mandates that staff members out queer youth to their families, as they are required to notify parents of any change to a “student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being”.The Republican politician completed the final step in introducing the measure in a staged ceremony surrounded by a group of school children, some of whom held signs reading, “Protect children, support parents”.the don't say gay bill, which bans discussion of anything LGBTQ in schools, has passed i want to take the hand of every parent who rooted for and voted for this, and tell them lovingly that their queer child will be queer regardless of whether or not you let them talk about it— matt (@mattxiv) March 28, 2022Speaking ahead of the event, DeSantis stated that those who oppose the bill “support sexualising kids in kindergarten”, “support injecting woke gender ideology into second-grade classrooms”, and “support enabling schools to transition students to a different gender without the knowledge of the parent, much less without the parent’s consent”.He added that teaching students that “they can be whatever they want to be” is “inappropriate”.The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill was passed by the Florida Senate earlier this month, by a vote of 22-17.
