Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Screenshot from Facebook)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 1557 – Parental Rights in Education, better known as the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill, into law at a school in Spring Hill March 28.
The controversial law will forbid discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in school classrooms for certain grade levels. It will also ban discussion on those two topics in any grade level if not deemed “age-appropriate,” although the law does not define what that means, and would allow a parent to sue a school district for violations.
“We will make sure that parents can send their kids to school to get an education, not an indoctrination,” DeSantis said at the bill’s signing.
Equality Florida’s executive director, Nadine Smith said in a statement that DeSantis signed the bill “in the most cowardly way possible today.”
“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. “He has attacked parents and children in our state by invoking hateful anti-LGBTQ stereotypes all to pander to his right-wing base as he prepares to run for President in 2024. DeSantis has damaged our state’s reputation as a welcoming and inclusive place for all families, he has made us a laughing stock and target of national derision. Worse, he has made schools less safe for children. 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. This law will not stand and we will work to see it removed either by the courts as unconstitutional or repealed by the legislature.”
The bill passed in the state House Feb. 24 by a vote of 69-47 and then in the state Senate by a vote of 22-17 March 8. While supporters have stated it is meant to give parents control over what their children learn in school, opponents of the new law say that it is bigoted and does nothing but silence LGBTQ youth.
“All children need and deserve supportive environments where the reality of [the LGBTQ] spectrum is embraced, taught, and discussed,” wrote the One Orlando Alliance in a statement. “As supporters of the Don’t Say Gay or Trans Bill continue their bigoted course of action and their appalling narratives about our community, One Orlando Alliance reaffirms our commitment to fight for the belonging and thriving our LGBTQ+ community, families, and children.”
Several members of the Florida House who opposed the bill reacted to its signing, including out Reps. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Michele Rayner, as well as LGBTQ ally Rep. Anna V. Eskamani.
“By signing #DontSayGay into law, DeSantis is attempting to censor and exclude an entire community of people from our public schools of his own political Gain,” wrote Guillermo Smith. “This law doesn’t solve any problem that exists.”
“My heart is heavy, as it has been during the entirety of this legislative session and display of despotism,” Raynor wrote. “I am the first openly queer Black woman to be elected to the Florida House and it gives me comfort during this trying time to know there will be many after me.”
🚨BREAKING: Governor DeSantis is signing the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill right now. 🚨
Read my full statement on the bill signing: pic.twitter.com/i1grwpctDT
— Michele Rayner-Goolsby (@micheleforfl) March 28, 2022
“I want to be clear that identifying as LGBTQ+ and caring about LGBTQ+ kids is not a ‘leftist agenda’ nor is it inappropriate for educators to acknowledge the fact that LGBTQ+ people are real and exist,” Eskamani stated. “The intent of this bill is to erase queer students and eliminate any programming that helps them feel safe and supported.”
The new law will go into effect July 1.
