Gay rights groups sue Florida Gov. DeSantis over so-lled 'Don't Say Gay' law : NPR

Contents:

• HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO
• LGBTQ GROUPS SUE FLORIDA OVER THE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW
• AS FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW TAK EFFECT, SCHOOLS ROLL OUT LGBTQ RTRICTNS
• FLORIDA JT PASSED THE "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL. HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS FOR KIDS
• ‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL: FLORIDA SENATE PASS LAW MARGALIZG LGBTQ+ PEOPLE
• 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL PASS FLORIDA SENATE
• FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL IS PART OF THE STATE'S LONG, SHAMEFUL HISTORY

HERE'S WHAT FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL WOULD DO AND WHAT WOULDN'T DO

The ACLU of Florida recently enjoyed a major victory for LGBT rights by challengg and succeedg overturng the state’s discrimatory law banng gay men and lbians om adoptg. Opposn of religly based refals to serve gay and lbian people? Support of homosexualy by US state?

HistoryHomosexual activy Florida? Homosexual activy Florida is legal. Current statSce Jun 26, 2003Legal Legal due to the US Supreme lg about homosexual marriage Florida?

But Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn act — which crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill — has sudnly sparked a natnal war of recent weeks, lears of global rporatns, edorial boards of major newspapers and Hollywood actors have all weighed on the proposed legislatn, wh some llg “eply disturbg” and others “nonntroversial. ” Conversely, opponents say would unfairly target the LGBTQ muny — particularly gay and trans stunts — and is “pretendg to solve a problem that don’t exist. For starters, cricism that the “Don’t Say Gay” bill do not fact say “gay” anywhere s text is te.

LGBTQ GROUPS SUE FLORIDA OVER THE SO-LLED 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW

The bill, which passed Florida’s Senate last week and the state’s Hoe of Reprentativ Febary, do, however, nta the terms “sexual orientatn” and “genr inty, ” each legal experts say that whether the bill prohibs the word “gay” self is a “distractn. “The ‘Don’t Say Gay’ moniker is a moniker about a certa polil amg of this suatn. ”Beyond brandg, a re argument over the bill centers around whether would prohib the “stctn” or “discsn” of sexual bill’s sponsors have emphatilly stated that the bill would not prohib stunts om talkg about their LGBTQ fai or bar classroom discsns about LGBTQ history, cludg events like the 2016 adly attack on the Pulse nightclub, a gay club Orlando.

AS FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' LAW TAK EFFECT, SCHOOLS ROLL OUT LGBTQ RTRICTNS

Ron DeSantis displays the signed Parental Rights Edutn, the so-lled "Don't Say Gay" bill, flanked by elementary school stunts durg a news nference on Monday at Classil Preparatory school Shady Hills, Fla.

FLORIDA JT PASSED THE "DON'T SAY GAY" BILL. HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS FOR KIDS

— Gay rights advot sued Florida Gov. Crics ll the "Don't Say Gay" law and argue that s te tent is to margalize LGBTQ people and their fai.

‘DON’T SAY GAY’ BILL: FLORIDA SENATE PASS LAW MARGALIZG LGBTQ+ PEOPLE

Alarmgly rtrictive laws ntue to proliferate across much of the Raedle / GettyThe red-state drive to roll back civil rights is enterg a new phase, perhaps bt symbolized by Florida’s passage this week of the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill censorg how schools discs sexual orientatn. The refal of the Walt Disney Company, one of Florida’s most powerful employers, to publicly cricize Florida’s “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill as moved through the legislature has quickly e to symbolize a retreat om the loud public opposn that many pani exprsed to earlier state iativ rtrictg civil liberti, such as the “bathroom bill” North Carola Republins approved the broad range of socially nservative iativ that Florida’s Republin ernor, Ron DeSantis, and the GOP state legislature have advanced sce 2021, bs has been “silent, silent as fuck, they are so silent, ” says Florida Democratic State Reprentative Anna Eskamani, echog a plat I heard across several stat om Democrats and civil-rights advot this week.

'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL PASS FLORIDA SENATE

This clus laws limg accs to abortn, rtrictg votg rights, banng transgenr girls om participatg high-school or llege sports, barrg transn medil treatment for transgenr mors, censorg how teachers n talk about current or historil racial and genr equi, removg licensg requirements to publicly rry firearms, creasg penalti for public protters, and immunizg drivers who h and jure Watch what’s happeng red statFlorida alone has passed almost every em on that list, and this week add the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill rtrictg classroom discsn of sexual orientatn. ” Although many big rporatns touted their mment to Black History Month Febary, he not, they “are not willg to put their hand on the sle to stop the removal of Mart Luther Kg and Rosa Parks om our public schools” or to stand up unequivolly for votg rporate rponse was even more muted to the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” legislatn Florida passed Tuday.

Disney’s reticence on the “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill ntrasted wh s activist role agast other nservative legislatn unr s former chairman and CEO Robert Iger. ”Bin also tweeted stern opposn to Florida’s “Don’t Say ‘Gay’” bill, and when passed on Tuday, Edutn Secretary Miguel Cardona issued a stronger statement of nmnatn than he’s offered on any of the earlier state-level bills targetg curriculum. As Florida’s Parental Rights Edutn law — or what crics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law — go to effect Friday, some of the state’s public school districts have begun rollg out new polici to lim LGBTQ issu and inti om beg discsed the Tuday night, the Leon County School Board unanimoly approved s “LGBTQ Inclive School Gui, ” which clus a provisn to alert parents if a stunt who is “open about their genr inty” is their child’s physil tn class or wh them on an overnight school trip.

FLORIDA'S 'DON'T SAY GAY' BILL IS PART OF THE STATE'S LONG, SHAMEFUL HISTORY

Clifford / AP fileThe so-lled Don’t Say Gay law, HB 1557, bans “stctn” about sexual orientatn or genr inty “ krgarten through gra 3 or a manner that is not age appropriate or velopmentally appropriate for stunts acrdance wh state standards. ” A provisn the law also requir school staff members to alert parents about “cril cisns affectg a stunt’s mental, emotnal, or physil health or well-beg, ” which many advot have terpreted as a way to force tors to out their gay or trans stunts. They have also ntend that will not prohib teachers and stunts om talkg about their LGBTQ fai or bar classroom discsns about LGBTQ history, cludg events like the 2016 attack at the Pulse gay nightclub crics and legal experts have said the broad language of the law uld open school districts and teachers to lawsus om parents who believe any nversatn about LGBTQ people or issu is “not age appropriate.

Carlos Smh, a Democrat who is gay and has been an outspoken cric of the new law, said he was “not surprised” that schools the state were announcg the polici and guil.

“What’s happeng right now — wh the censorship of rabow flags and school districts preparg to basilly ph LGBTQ stunts and teachers to the closet — is exactly what we said would happen wh the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law. "Members and supporters of the LGBTQ muny at the "Say Gay Anyway" rally Miami Beach, Fla., on March 13.