With the eyes of the nation on Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed the state’s first explicitly anti-LGBTQ bill since 1997 into law on June 1, 2021, the first day of Pride Month. The “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” singled out transgender youth.
More specifically, it banned transgender girls from participating in school sports that align with their gender identity. The law was challenged in federal court by the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, but the Human Rights Campaign’s case has been stayed pending the decision in another of Florida’s challenges to uphold transgender rights.
Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBTQ-focused civil rights organization, had organized against the law from its inception. The bill’s passage was among the reasons they likened Florida’s subsequent legislative session that began in January and ended March 11 to “the most dangerous 60 days in our state.”
“Florida lawmakers who congratulated themselves last year for passing the state’s first explicitly anti-LGBTQ bill in 24 years have now staked their political ambitions on a slate of anti-LGBTQ, anti-democratic bills,” Equality Florida noted. Among their concerns were bills introduced in each chamber of the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature, Senate Bill 1834 and House Bill 1557.
Christened “Parental Rights in Education,” SB 1834 and HB 1557 were introduced in January. While language evolved throughout debate, they sought to limit the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools at certain grade levels – prompting LGBTQ advocates to coin the measure Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill.
“Our community won’t go back in the closet and we won’t be erased, [but HB 1557] would ban discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grades,” Equality Florida first detailed their position. “The bill’s vague language appears to be designed to attack support systems in schools for LGBTQ youth to be themselves.”
While activists of every age rallied in Tallahassee and around the state, HB 1557 passed in the House by a vote of 69-47 Feb. 24. That paved the way for a 22-17 passage in the Senate March 8. The bill was subsequently sent to the governor’s desk.
Since then, advocates have advised that the fight for LGBTQ students in Florida is far from over – vowing to fight for silenced youth throughout the state.
PARENTAL RIGHTS?
The fight against “Parental Rights in Education” began not long after its introduction in the Florida Senate and House. Senator Dennis Baxley of Florida’s District 12 filed SB 1834 Jan. 7.
Baxley was elected to the Senate in 2016. He committed to fight for “conservative values.”
HB 1557 was subsequently filed Jan. 11 by the Judiciary Committee, Education and Employment Committee and Rep. Joe Harding, its chief sponsor who represents Florida’s District 22.
The conservative Republican was elected in 2020 and noted “Florida’s education system should do right by every single student it serves.” It’s something HB 1557’s detractors agreed with.
LGBTQ advocates argue that because the bill “prohibits classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels,” it does the opposite for LGBTQ students. The Trevor Project, the world’s largest LGBTQ youth-serving suicide prevention and mental health organization, shared March 8 that it poses significant risks.
According to the organization, youth who learned about LGBTQ issues in the classroom had 23% lower odds of reporting a suicide attempt in the past year. Two-thirds of LGBTQ youth also told the organization in a recent survey that state laws restricting the rights of LGBTQ youth – like Florida’s “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act” – have already had a negative impact on their mental health.
HB 1557’s supporters maintain that it is “an act relating to parental rights in education,” which is how its text begins. It will require “district school boards to adopt procedures that comport with certain provisions of law for notifying student’s parents of specified information” and requires “such procedures to reinforce the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the upbringing and control of their children.”
It also prohibits school districts from adopting policies and procedures that prohibit personnel from notifying parents “about specified information,” ensuring parental notification is made “in critical decisions affecting student’s mental, emotional, or physical well-being.”
Furthermore, HB 1557 notes that “classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”
Advocates argue that because of its vague language, HB 1557 poses a risk not only to LGBTQ students at every level, but LGBTQ teachers and same-sex parents as well. That’s because it allows parents to sue school districts and instructors if they believe the measure’s provisions have been violated.
“The Florida state legislature is playing a dangerous political game with the health and safety of LGBTQ+ kids,” HRC Senior Counsel and State Legislative Director Cathryn M. Oakley
summarizes. “The existence of LGBTQ+ people across Florida is not up for debate.”
“DON’T SAY GAY OR TRANS”
According to Equality Florida Press Secretary Brandon Wolf, the “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill “earned its moniker because the language on the page seeks to erase LGBTQ people.” He notes that while supporters of HB 1557 say it doesn’t harm LGBTQ Floridians, “the language of the bill says otherwise.”
“It targets LGBTQ parents,” he says. “Stigmatizes LGBTQ educators. And would further isolate LGBTQ young people.”
That’s why the organization and others, backed by lawmakers, students and religious groups, say they mobilized in Tallahassee before and after its passage, as well as throughout the bill’s debate. Their efforts grew as HB 1557 made its way through House committees and on Feb. 7, when DeSantis first publicly signaled his support for the bill.
Speaking with press, the governor – who is up for re-election in November – said that school personnel who have conversations with students about their gender identity was “entirely inappropriate,” noting that in some schools youth have been told “don’t worry, don’t pick your gender yet.” He added that “I don’t think that’s happening here in large numbers.”
“Schools need to be teaching kids to read, to write,” DeSantis said. “They need to teach them science, history. We need more civics and understanding of the U.S. Constitution, what makes our country unique, all those basic things.”
With support for HB 1557 growing in Tallahassee, D.C. responded. The Biden administration denounced it the following day.
“Every parent hopes that our leaders will ensure their children’s safety, protection and freedom,” a spokesperson for the White House shared Feb. 8. They noted the legislation “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.
“Across the country, we’re seeing Republican leaders take actions to regulate what students can or cannot read, what they can or cannot learn, and most troubling, who they can or cannot be,” the spokesperson continued. “This is politics at its worse, cynically using our students as pawns in political warfare. 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.”
President Joe Biden’s condemnation came next.
“I want every member of the LGBTQI+ community – especially the kids who will be impacted by this hateful bill – to know that you are loved and accepted just as you are,” he shared Feb. 8. “I have your back, and my administration will continue to fight for the protections and safety you deserve.”
IN THE HOUSE
By Feb. 17, the bill moved past the Florida House Judiciary Committee and was given its first reading. House Democrats – including the chamber’s two openly LGBTQ representatives, Orlando’s Carlos Guillermo Smith and St. Petersburg’s Michelle Rayner – mounted their defense from the floor.
In the hours-long session, lawmakers submitted dozens of amendments to remove what Equality Florida deemed “the most dangerous components of the legislation.” Among their efforts, Rayner moved to eliminate the portion referring to gender identity and sexual orientation from the bill.
“LGBTQ people are a normal, healthy part of this world. I am normal. I am healthy. And I am part of this world and I am a part of this chamber,” Rayner told her fellow representatives.
“LGBTQ folks are parents, students, teachers … I don’t know if any of you have been in a place where you were not wanted or seen. I have been in this place and unfortunately many times in this chamber, I have felt like I have not been wanted or seen,” she continued. “So I’m asking my colleagues … especially those who have members of their family who are LGBTQ – I am asking you, I am pleading … you’re voting against me and Rep. Smith’s humanity and who we are and that’s the message in itself.”
Smith agreed, noting that the Florida Department of Education would be “in charge of making sure that we keep vulnerable LGBTQ youth safe.” Late last year, under DeSantis, it removed an LGBTQ Resources Page containing anti-bullying information for parents, educators and youth from its website.
“I think what they did is appalling,” Smith noted. “I think we need to commit to making sure that we protect all students and explicitly commit to protecting LGBTQ youth. I don’t trust the Department of Education to do that.”
“Republican members of the legislature rejected efforts to narrow the bill and mitigate the harm it inflicts on LGBTQ people” throughout the debate, Wolf explains. More than 10 amendments failed in the House, though one authored by HB 1557’s chief sponsor that could have potentially outed LGBTQ students to their parents was withdrawn.
Harding’s amendment would have required principals to inform parents of their children’s LGBTQ status within six weeks of learning how they identified. After public backlash, he said in a statement it was withdrawn “to focus on the primary bill that empowers parents to be engaged in their children’s lives.”
“Those lawmakers heard the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric being espoused by the bill’s supporters and chose to stand with them instead of their LGBTQ constituents,” Wolf says. “It’s clear that the political agenda of this governor and his allies is one of eliminating inclusive classrooms, muzzling teachers, censoring speech and policing Floridians in every aspect of our lives while refusing to address urgent crises our state is facing.”
HB 1557 passed the House without a single Democrat’s vote Feb. 24, though it did so without the support of every Republican in the chamber.
“This bill is so extreme that it inspired a rare rebellion within House GOP ranks as seven Republican lawmakers broke with leadership and opposed passage,” Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith shared afterwards. “The Florida Senate should follow their lead and reject this extreme legislation.”
IN & OUTSIDE OF THE SENATE
The Florida Senate advanced HB 1557 not long after its passage in the House. In a 12-8 vote, with one Republican joining Senate Democrats, the body’s Appropriations Committee moved the bill to the floor.
Its movement prompted action throughout the state. Student protests were held across Florida March 3, first promoted as the “Don’t Say Gay Walkout.” They were led by 17-year-old Flagler Palm Coast High School student Jack Petocz.
Petocz is the founder of Recall FCSB, a student-led organization “working to empower youth to act and vote against bigotry within the Flagler School Board” in Flagler County. He also serves as a political strategist for Gen-Z for Change, a coalition of more than 500 creators and activists.
“Over 500 students from my school joined thousands of other concerned youth statewide to demonstrate their constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech, freedom of expression and freedom to protest,” Petocz shared that evening. “Students waved pride flags and stood together, showing the politicians peddling bigotry that we will not be silenced.”
More than 100 students rallied in Tallahassee as well, joined by Equality Florida and others.
“Those who will be most impacted by this dangerous piece of legislation – Florida students – mobilized by the thousands to walk out of class and demand a stop to the Don’t Say Gay bill,” the organization reflected. “Their courage and resilience is to be applauded as they stand tall in the face of unprecedented bigotry in the legislature that would muzzle their teachers and erase them from classroom discussion.”
Such efforts had a profound effect on the Senate floor – at least for Shevrin Jones, who became Florida’s first openly gay state senator in 2020. More than 10 proposed amendments failed throughout HB 1557’s debate, including his efforts to add language limiting any attempts to change a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
“I don’t think y’all understand how much courage it takes for these children to show up every day,” he told colleagues. Jones, a former teacher who came out in 2018 at 34, stressed the importance of having a safe space for students to discuss their sexual orientation and gender identity.
“As hard as this was, I needed to tell the truth to ensure I remind my colleagues that we should not be in the business of harming people,” he shared afterwards. “Whatever we do, do it in love and do no harm.”
With opposition growing in the Senate, so too did HB 1557’s support. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Press Secretary Christina Pushaw drew ire on Twitter March 4 for likening the legislation to an “anti-grooming bill,” which Equality Florida denounced as an anti-LGBTQ trope.
“The bills that liberals inaccurately call ‘Don’t Say Gay’ would be more accurately described as an Anti-Grooming bill,” Pushaw wrote. “If you’re against the Anti-Grooming Bill, you are probably a groomer or at least you don’t denounce the grooming of 4–8-year-old children.”
“The governor’s spokesperson launched a horrific anti-LGBTQ tirade on Twitter, accusing any who don’t support this hateful piece of legislation of being complicit in a plot to assault children,” Wolf says. “She went on to accuse State Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith, the only openly-LGBTQ man in the Florida House, of being a pedophile because he dared to challenge her dangerous rhetoric.
“The governor owns that,” he continues. “This is the kind of hate that LGBTQ people are staring down in the face of this bigoted bill. And we will make sure voters remember in November.”
Watermark reached out to the governor’s office for comment, on HB 1557 and Pushaw’s words. The press secretary stressed that “the word ‘gay’ does not even appear in the legislation.”
“It’s a proposal to ensure VPK-3rd graders aren’t taught about age-inappropriate sexual topics – including all instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation, whether that’s gay or straight or anything else,” she says.
“Five, six and seven-year-old children should never be sexualized,” Pushaw continues. “They are far too young to be learning about these topics in school. If a young child has any questions about sexuality or gender, it’s solely up to that child’s parent or guardian how they want to answer those questions.
“This is not an LGBT issue, and most Floridians – gay or straight – are in favor of child safeguarding and agree with the concept of parents’ rights,” Pushaw stresses, reiterating that the bill “does not single out any sexual orientation or gender identity – it applies to ALL discussion of sex and gender in grades VPK-3.”
As for her tweets, she adds that DeSantis has never referred to HB 1557 “as an anti-grooming bill or used that term. It was my personal account and I was tweeting off work hours. The governor in his statements about this legislation, has emphasized the importance of parental rights and making sure all instruction in our schools is developmentally appropriate.”
More than 60 LGBTQ-affirming people of faith also assembled at the Capitol in opposition to the bill March 7 as debate continued, representing multiple denominations. They held prayer services with the public, met with lawmakers and urged them to vote against the legislation.
MCC Tampa, which celebrated 50 years of serving Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ community last year, was among the organizers.
“We knew that the bill was likely to pass, but we stood together in powerful solidarity,” Senior Pastor Rev. Jakob Hero-Shaw says. “We were a united voice of reason and voice of love in the face of homophobia and transphobia.
“I worry for the health and safety of kids who will feel they aren’t able to confide in teachers,” he continues. “I worry about the children of LGBTQ parents who will feel that they can’t speak the reality of their lives at school. Classrooms need to be safe spaces for all students, not just straight students who have a mom and dad at home.”
HB 1557 passed in the Senate March 8, with two Republicans joining every Democrat in voting against it. Equality Florida noted that more than 600,000 emails were sent and nearly 60,000 phone calls were made to lawmakers in opposition of the legislation, in addition to the hundreds of people who drove to Tallahassee.
“We are grateful for Democrats in the Florida Legislature who showed up for us every step of the way, especially our LGBTQ lawmakers,” the organization shared. “And we salute the GOP lawmakers who broke with GOP leadership by voting against this bill.”
Florida’s only statewide-elected Democrat – Nikki Fried, Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services – also condemned the measure. She called the bill “an international embarrassment to our state.”
“Because the governor and the legislature won’t say it, I will: this kind of hate and discrimination has no place in Florida,” Fried said in a statement. “To Florida’s LGBTQ community: you are not alone, you are beautiful the way you are and you are so loved. Please know that we will never stop fighting for a better world for you.”
U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist weighed in as well. He currently represents Florida’s 13th congressional district and like Fried, hopes to unseat DeSantis and become Florida’s next governor this year.
“The disgraceful and unnecessary ‘Don’t Say Gay’ legislation will cause irrevocable damage to the LGBTQ+ community and harm Florida’s children,” he says. “It has no place in this great state. Period.
“I stand shoulder to shoulder with LGBTQ+ folks across the state, and as governor, I’ll fight so the entire LGBTQ+ community feels loved and welcomed,” Crist continues. “If Governor DeSantis can’t do the same, he’s unfit to serve as governor of the Sunshine State.”
AN UNCERTAIN IMPACT
Once signed into law, “Parental Rights in Education” will go into effect July 1, leaving LGBTQ advocates, organizations and individuals throughout Florida with more questions than answers.
It’s something Equality Florida addressed during a virtual “Free To Say Gay” Town Hall March 9 after HB 1557’s passage in the Florida Legislature. Nadine Smith welcomed Public Policy Director Jon Harris Maurer and Director of Transgender Equality Nikole Parker, as well as Carlos Guillermo Smith and Jack Petocz to reflect on its passage:
“The biggest message we want you to take away from all of this is that the fight is definitely not over,” she shared. “We’re preparing legal strategies that we have to take this to court and we are working with allies to begin the push to repeal this.”
In the meantime, however, openly gay teacher Kevin Hanna says “this makes my job harder.” The Orange County educator watched HB 1557’s path through the legislature with particular interest as he teaches second grade.
“I saw Christina Pushaw’s tweet about protecting four- to eight-year-olds from grooming, and I teach eight-year-old students,” he says. “I thought, ‘so this is about me. Okay, great.’ I’m teaching kids that are seven, eight years old and this is my 12th year. These are the kids I have in class all day.
“This is a direct attack,” Hanna continues. “It makes my job harder because I have to now keep things in the back of my head. I’ll have to come to work every day and decide, ‘Is there going to be a day that I put my foot down and fight to hang rainbow flags everywhere, or is today a day that I shut up and hide?’ It makes everything about my job more mentally taxing.”
Pinellas County School Board Member Caprice Edmond, a former teacher herself, shares Hanna’s concerns. The St. Petersburg resident was elected to the school board in 2020 and spoke out against HB 1557 during St. Petersburg’s “OK to Say Gay” rally March 12.
“I think the bill is unnecessary,” she says. “I taught third grade, and as an educator there was never a point where I instructed about sexual orientation, which is highlighted in the bill. Educators go to school and obtain degrees so they have the qualifications to teach and handle whichever topic may come their way appropriately.
“I think the bill causes harm,” she notes. “We should make sure that all students feel safe and affirmed. LGBTQ youth experience a lot of challenges in life, and all students deserve a high-quality education.”
LGBTQ organizations throughout the state have also watched the legislation advance, like the Orlando Youth Alliance. The nonprofit has provided safe spaces for LGBTQ youth since 1990, also overseeing the Seminole and Lakeland Youth Alliances.
“It’s extremely unfair of the Republican-controlled House and Senate to put forth something like this, and of the governor to support it,” CEO Michael Slaymaker says, “but I’m glad to see students around the state walk out and show protest. I hope they do more of that.
“We have to look at the populations this is actually going to affect, obviously LGBTQ youth are the main target of this – but I look at the teachers as well,” he continues. “What a minefield this is creating for them with ‘I can’t say that, I can’t say this.’ Their jobs are difficult enough. We should be encouraging more wonderful teachers to join classrooms to educate our youth, not the opposite.”
Slaymaker hopes the LGBTQ community “doesn’t get sad, but instead gets mad. Remember that the bill says ‘sexual orientation,’ it doesn’t say ‘homosexuality.’ Heterosexuality is a sexual orientation, so I hope that same-sex parents out there are talking to their attorneys and preparing lawsuits should their school districts talk about heterosexuality being the family norm. They should sue.”
Whatever comes next, Equality Florida’s message remains clear. “To LGBTQ young people: know that you are loved. That you are valued,” Wolf says. “We will never stop fighting for you, because you are worth fighting for.”
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona also addressed LGBTQ Floridians in a statement March 8, reiterating support for LGBTQ youth from the Biden administration.
“Parents across the country are looking to national, state, and district leaders to support our nation’s students, help them recover from the pandemic, and provide them the academic and mental health supports they need,” Cardona said. “Instead, leaders in Florida are prioritizing hateful bills that hurt some of the students most in need.
“The Department of Education has made clear that all schools receiving federal funding must follow federal civil rights law, including Title IX’s protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” he continued. “We stand with our LGBTQ+ students in Florida and across the country, and urge Florida leaders to make sure all their students are protected and supported.”
“Our fight continues,” Equality Florida adds.
For more information about Equality Florida and to take action in the organization’s fight against HB 1557, visit FreeToSayGay.org and EQFL.org. Visit RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov to check your voter registration and more.
