White House Says GOP Using Students as 'Pawns' With 'Don't Say Gay' Bill
Newsweek, "Every parent hopes that our leaders will ensure their children's safety, protection, and freedom. Today, conservative politicians in Florida rejected those basic values by advancing legislation that is designed to target and attack the kids who need support the most—LGBTQI+ students, who are already vulnerable to bullying and violence just for being themselves."The administration added that it was not an isolated action, but a move seen across the country by Republican leaders who are trying "to regulate what students can or cannot read, what they can or cannot learn, and most troubling, who they can or cannot be."Two bills moving through the state legislature, HB 1557 and SB 1834, are seeking to prohibit schools from encouraging classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not "age-appropriate.""This is politics at its worse, cynically treating our students as pawns in a game and not people who deserve love and respect," the White House said. "At every step of the way, Republicans have peddled in cheap, political attacks, instead of focusing on the issues parents, students, and teachers care about."On Tuesday in Florida, the Senate Education Committee passed SB 1834 in a 6–3 vote.
The state's House Education & Employment Committee already moved its bill forward to the Judiciary Committee earlier last month.The Senate vote comes just a day after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signaled his support for the bills for the first time publicly.At a press event on Monday, DeSantis said it would be "entirely inappropriate" for teachers to discuss gender identity with their students, saying that some children are being taught, "Don't worry, don't pick.
